All These Lives
by UndergroundValentine
Summary: Draco Malfoy is barely getting by in life with a miserable marriage and a wonderful son. Harry Potter feels there is something missing from his perfect marriage and happy family. A chance bathroom meeting and a little honesty can change everything.
1. The World Outside These Walls

This is a collab between me and HieiTheFallen from deviantART (she's my collaborator on my other fics such as Naeemah Baniti, Chained To You and Baby Mama Drama). She writes the odd chapters in Draco's perspective, I write the even chapters in Harry's perspective. Please bear with us, this is our first time writing in the Harry Potter fandom, so it's all very new to us. Enjoy! :)**  
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><p><strong>Chapter One: The World Outside These Walls May Know That You're Breathing<br>Draco's POV**

"Draco, where are you going?" Astoria asked me, reaching out to take my hand and pull me back to the table. I sighed, looking down at her. Her face used to bring me a bit of peace and happiness, but looking at her now just depressed me. There was nothing good about our relationship, nothing but our son. "Your son just made it into Slytherin and you are going to just walk away? Don't you think you should be here for him?"

Hogwarts had changed over the nineteen years since the war ended. Parents were invited to the opening ceremony so they could see their children be placed into their house. Scorpius was just placed into Slytherin, but was that really shocking? I didn't think so. My entire family had been in Slytherin, ever since the start of Hogwarts.

"I need to use the restroom," I told her, frowning. The truth was, I loved my son and I came to be there for him, but I just couldn't stand to be around Astoria anymore. Throughout our marriage, she became more and more annoying to me. She never stopped talking and she never let me forget my imperfections and my failures. A man could really only take so much before he was fighting against himself to keep from blowing up at his wife and demanding that she respect him. I was her husband after all, even if I was starting to rethink our living arrangement.

"Can't you hold it, Draco? Your son wants you to be here," she said. "Can you just act like a father for a while?" That just infuriated me and I tugged my wrist from her grasp, caught in a mixture of anger and simply wanting to just go into the bathroom and cry. Of course I was my son's father. He was my top priority and the only reason I was even still with his mother.

"Last I checked, I'm the only parent who is there for him, period, Astoria. When he needs someone, I'm the one who is there while you are the one who's out with your "girl friends" having a good time. You don't have to pretend like you're out with friends. I know that you're out with other men instead of being with your son, so please don't lecture me about being a parent," I hissed and a look of complete an utter shock crossed her face. She wasn't loyal to me, I was almost sure of it, and she neglected my son for her social life. She really had to nerve to question my parenting skills?

"Draco!" she hissed, drawing a few eyes from nearby parents but I just waved her off and walked away. I didn't actually leave the hall; I just stood at the back, leaning against one of the massive columns. Scorpius' eyes fell on me and he was grinning with pride. I smiled back at him, just so he knew how proud of him I was, but I was secretly feeling guilty. I wanted his mother to be a mother. I wanted us to be a real family, but I knew that would probably never happen.

After about a dozen more kids, a name that I was shocked to hear came to my ears. I shouldn't have been so caught off guard because I had seen him with his father at the train station, but I was taken back anyway. Albus Severus Potter walked across the little platform and sat on that same stool we all had sat on nineteen years ago. The sorting hat sat on top of his head, the hat falling over his eyes some because it was just too big for little children.

A few minutes went by in absolute silence. I felt like the entire hall was holding their breath, waiting for the hat to shout out how the child would follow in Harry's footsteps. The Boy Who Lived's son was surely going to be in the same house as Harry.

We were all stunned into speechlessness when the hat shouted "Slytherin!"

For a moment, I thought Albus was actually going to cry on the stool, but he stood up and went to the Slytherin table silently and without looking at anyone else. He took a seat next to my son, who frowned a little and leaned over to him, whispering something to the brown-haired boy. I only hoped that their first conversation turned out better than when Harry and I first met.

I looked over where all the parents were seated and I saw Harry sitting next to his wife, Ginny Weasley, who was sitting next to her older brother Ron and his wife Hermione. Ginny looked a little upset but Harry was calm, almost content looking. His head shot up and we locked eyes for just a moment before I turned away and left the hall, heading towards the nearest lavatory.

It truly was hard to believe that it had been nineteen years since I'd been here. Nineteen years since I almost died and Harry saved my life in the Room of Requirement. Nineteen years since Voldemort had hugged me in front of the entire school. Nineteen years since I ran away with my parents while everyone else put their lives on the line to stop Voldemort. Nineteen years since my father was put in prison… I hadn't seen him since the day he was taken to Azkaban. My mother left Malfoy Manor years ago and never came back. She calls me every once in a while, just to see how things are going and to let me know that she's all right.

Sighing, I slipped into the bathroom and walked over to the large sinks. The practices at Hogwarts had definitely changed, but it still looked the same. Nothing about its appearance really changed but the atmosphere just seemed… happier, more cheerful, really. I turned the water on and splashed chilled water onto my face, groaning softly. My son was happy and in school but the rest of my life was falling apart. I didn't want to leave the Ministry when my shift was over because I wanted to avoid my wife, but when I got home, she was never there anyway.

What did I ever love about her in the first place? I couldn't really figure it out, but I didn't even like to linger on my relationship with Astoria. When we first started dating, I knew there was something wrong with our relationship, but I ignored it and we jumped the gun and headed into a wedding three months after our first date. Things never really did seem right, but I always ignored it. We had a physical relationship until she got pregnant and after she gave birth to our son, we never had sex again. She didn't want anything to do with me, it seemed, but I didn't really want anything to do with her either, so why push her?

At least I was home every night for my son. She never even bothered to come home until Scorpius and I were both in bed. It didn't really take a genius to figure out she was, more than likely, cheating on me. If I were actually in love, it probably would have bothered me more. I just wish she would think more about her child and put his needs above her own, selfish wants.

_She actually has the nerve to question my parenting ability?_

Sighing, I splashed my face with cold water again and I looked at myself in the mirror. Not much had changed about me really. There were a few lines around my lips that defined me as an adult rather than a teenager, but my skin was still smooth looking and there were no wrinkles. I supposed people would say I was good looking, but couldn't see it. I looked completely miserable. I _was_completely miserable, not that I would admit that to anyone but myself. It was the life I had given to myself and I had to deal with it on my own, like everything else.

"Draco?" I heard come from the doorway of the bathroom. I tensed a little, lifting my eyes to see none other than Harry Potter's reflection in the mirror. Sighing for the thousandth time today, I turned to face him. He didn't look like he wanted to lash out at me or start a duel, like one might expect from the two of us. He just looked a little… worried. That actually did shock me.

"Harry," I answered and he walked over to me slowly, a frown pulling his lips in a southern direction. "What are you doing in here?"

"Well, I saw you dart out of the hall in the middle of the ceremony and I was wondering if you were all right," he answered, leaning against one of the sinks.

"Not to sound… rude, but why would you care if I'm all right or not?" I asked, turning back to the mirror to look at myself again. I definitely didn't look all right. I looked like a well-put together mess and anyone who looked at me for too long would be able to see all the misery I was hiding from the world. I tried to look like a perfect family man, but it didn't work for anyone who could pick up details easily. I supposed Harry was just one of those people.

"Come on, Malfoy… Draco, it's been nineteen years. I think we can get along as adults, even if we didn't get along as children," he said, frowning at me. I sighed, nodding my agreement. It seemed silly to keep up our old rivalries. They just didn't matter anymore. We'd grown away from that. "Now what's the matter?"

"Just not feeling too well, Harry," I told him, frowning a little. "I've been feeling under the weather for a few days now." Hopefully he believed whatever I happened to blow out my ass.

"You used to be an excellent liar, Draco, but I think you've lost your touch…" he said to me and I sighed, looking at everything, anything, but him. "Is everything all right with your family? They're well, I hope?" he asked.

"They are… fine, Harry," I said to him and he grabbed my shoulder, forcing me to look at him by turning me away from the mirror. For being so short and scrawny, he was quite strong and his grip was powerful, hard and yet, somehow, at the same time, it was warm and comforting.

"Liar," he accused. "What's happened?" I couldn't really understand why Harry cared so much to find out what was wrong with my life. We were enemies as children and into young adulthood and even if we didn't need to be like that anymore, we were a far cry from friends. We hadn't even spoken to one another in nineteen years and yet we both worked at the Ministry. Granted, we worked in different departments, but it really wasn't much of an excuse. I had to deal with Ronald at least once a week. It was obvious that he still held a huge grudge against me but Harry seemed like he wanted to forget about that and, maybe, become friends.

"My wife and I… we just aren't compatible anymore… We aren't happy. I'm not happy," I told him. I wasn't sure why I felt like I could open up and be honest with Harry. Well, deep down, I had a bit of an understanding of why, perhaps, but it was kind of hard to really grasp it. "She doesn't make me happy and I know I don't make her happy."

"I'm sorry to hear that…" he told me. "Is there anything you can do to… patch up the marriage?" he added and I couldn't help the sad smile.

"Not much of a marriage really left. I'm lucky if she even pays attention to her son as his mother," I said sadly. I hated that my son didn't have the mother he deserved. I should have been more selective with my mate, I supposed. "There's not much hope in the way of "fixing" it."

"I'm sorry, Draco…" he said softly. "But how's your son?" he asked and I smiled a little, not that I really meant to show so much emotion to Harry.

"He's the one thing I've done right in this world," I admitted. Harry smiled at me and he took my arm, tugging me from the bathroom without even asking me if I wanted to go with him. The sorting ceremony ended and everyone in the hall was eating a three-course meal, but Harry didn't take me back there. We started to wander the halls, like we were curious first years instead of Hogwarts graduates and fully grown adults.

"Harry…?" I asked after we'd be wandering for five minutes or so. "Why are you out here with me instead of in there with your family?"

Harry turned to face me and he smiled, shrugging. "Not really sure. I saw you get up and leave and I felt like I needed to follow you… Like you'd need me to save your life again," he teased but I just sighed and looked away, remembering that day when the Room of Requirement was set on fire. It was true, if Harry hadn't saved me, I would have burned alive. "Draco, I'm just kidding," he said, taking my arm and tugging me, again, but this time he took me over to a bench and we sat side by side. "I think you can take care of yourself, but you look miserable."

"I am miserable," I mumbled, mindlessly scratching at the area of my arm where the Dark Mark used to be through my jacket sleeve. Harry watched me for a moment, frowning a little.

"Do you still… have it? The mark I mean?" he asked and I just shook my head at him. He raised a brow at me. "Can I… see it?" Sighing, I rolled my sleeve up slowly and held my arm out to him. He took it in his grasp, bringing my arm up into the light and he gasped. Across the mark was a huge scorched scar. When my father was arrested, I burned my arm until the mark was nothing but an unrecognizable patch . I didn't regret it for a second because it, at least, helped me deal with the awful memories Voldemort had left me with. "Bloody Hell…"

I didn't respond much besides a soft shrug of the shoulder. I didn't want to dwell on the Mark or how I'd attempted to burn it off of my skin. "Thank you, Harry…" I mumbled instead.

He looked up at me shocked. "For what?" he asked, staring at me.

"For, well, a lot of things, I suppose. Saving my life… Coming to see if I was all right today," I told him. "And I'm sorry for a lot of things too… It would take most of the night, if not all of it, to tell you everything I am sorry for."

Harry smiled at me. "You're welcome, Draco," he said. "And you don't need to apologize. I know you're sorry… And it's all right… But, if I may, that day, when your parents wanted you to leave Hogwarts with them… Why didn't you stay? I know you wanted to. Why didn't you?"

"I was a coward. I didn't want to face Voldemort but I also didn't want to say no to my mother. She gave up so much to make sure I was alive and if I willing through all of that away, it would have crushed her…" I explained, frowning. "But that really wasn't much of an excuse. I wanted to stay, I did. I wanted to stand up to Voldemort and fight, but I didn't…"

"If your parents weren't there… would you have stayed?" he asked me, finally letting my arm go. I stared at my shoes for a while before nodding slowly. I would have, at least, liked to believe that I would have stayed if my parents didn't call for me to leave with them. I'm not entirely sure if that was true or not, but it made me feel a little better about myself.

Harry smiled at me and he seemed like he wanted to continue our conversation, but Astoria came out of the hall to, probably, find me and yell at me for being gone too long. She didn't look happy when she saw me sitting with Harry. "What are you doing out here with him? I thought you hated him?" she said, frowning and crossing her arms over her chest, almost like she was jealous.

I shot Harry an apologetic look and stood up. "We were just talking for a moment, calm down," I told her.

She huffed at me. "Well hurry up, Draco. Your son wants to see you before the parents have to leave," she growled, probably angry because he didn't want to spend time with her, he wanted to spend time with me. Before I could even respond, she spun on her heels and stormed off, her heels clicking loudly throughout the hall we were in.

"Lovely, isn't she?" I mumbled, frowning fiercely.

"Oh, she's charming…" Harry muttered and stood up, walking over to join me. "Listen, Ginny will be taking Lily to stay with her mother for a few days. Why don't you come over for lunch tomorrow so we can… I don't know, catch up? You know we haven't really seen each other at all since that day…"

"You really want to build a friendship here, don't you Potter?" I asked and he blushed faintly, looking away for a moment.

"Listen, when I went back to save you in the Room of Requirement… I felt like I couldn't just leave you but it wasn't because of my morals, it was because I couldn't bear the thought of leaving _you_," he said. "So yes, I want to correct not getting to be closer to you then…"

"You went back for me? Not because you felt you had to but because you wanted to save me?" I asked, staring at him in awe and he blushed a little more, nodding.

"So will you come? Tomorrow I mean?" he asked, not looking at me.

I nodded. "Where and what time?"

"The Hollow, Ginny and I fixed it up right after we got married. Maybe around two?" he told me and I smiled softly.

"Well, until tomorrow, then, Potter." He grinned and we said our goodbyes quickly so we could each go and be with our children before the parents had to leave the school and their children for the first time.


	2. Since You Came Around

**Chapter Two: It's Been A Long Time Since You Came Around**

**Harry's POV**

"Everything alright?" Ginny said to me once I came back to the Great Hall. I smiled to her and nodded once, taking my seat beside her at the parent's table. Across the Hall I could see my son, Albus, sitting beside his friend Scorpius Malfoy at the Slytherin table. His face was written with something that looked like uncertainty and joy. I knew that he didn't, exactly, favor being in Slytherin, but he must have listened to me when I told him it wouldn't matter to me.

While some people would probably believe different, it was true. It didn't bother me that my youngest son was in Slytherin, whilst my oldest, James, was in Gryffindor, much like I had been. During my own school years here at Hogwarts, I had not favored the Slytherins much, myself, but I grew to respect the house and a fair few of the people who were a part of it.

I glanced around the Great Hall, taking note to the long tables that belonged to each house, as well as the parents table that ran perpendicular to the rest along the back wall. There were hundreds of candles floating in the air, and the ceiling was still charmed, as always, to show the night sky. There were no clouds, just an endless sea of stars. I smiled softly to myself, glancing down the table to see Draco sitting with his wife, Astoria. He didn't look too pleased to be near her, but he looked better than he had been before he ran out.

It was strange to think that Draco didn't have a good relationship with his wife. As far as I'd heard, from various co-workers at the Ministry, when they'd first started going out they were happy. Not to mention, some even said that their wedding had been beautiful. While I understood compatibility failing in a couple, it left me unsettled that it had happened so quickly to Draco and Astoria. I couldn't help but to feel bad for their son; he was the only thing keeping them together. Now that he was starting his first year at Hogwarts, there would be practically nothing to keep Draco and his wife from falling apart…

I hadn't realized that I was staring over in Draco's direction until his eyes met mine and he raised an eyebrow, as if to say _What?_ but I quickly shook my head and looked away, fighting the flame of a blush that started to creep up my neck and to my face. My head was still spinning with the words from our conversation and how much we'd let slip between the two of us. Draco and I were anything but friends in our school years together, and suddenly we were swapping stories and truth like nothing had happened.

Well, things had happened. Things had changed for the both of us. I let my eyes slip shut for a moment. Behind my closed lids I could see the healed burn mark that covered his entire inner forearm where the Dark Mark used to be. I bit my lip, fighting the urge to shiver in discomfort. I knew the Dark Mark brought bad memories for Draco, but it was hard to imagine, even after seeing it first hand, that he had burned it away from his skin.

"Harry, are you alright?" I heard Ginny say to me, her hand resting gently on my arm. I let my eyes drift open and I nodded once to her, smiling softly. She eyed me for a moment before her gaze drifted up to the lightning bolt scar on my forehead. I let out a breath and covered her hand with my own.

"I'm fine, Ginny. I promise," I told her. She didn't look entirely convinced, but she nodded once anyway, and I smiled at her again. I turned my attention to the front of the Great Hall where the staff was seated at their own table. Headmistress McGonagall looked old and tired behind her square spectacles and emerald green robes, but in her eyes was the same stern fire that I could remember seeing when I was eleven. I smiled softly as she spoke to the first years, going over restricted areas and ground rules.

~.~.~

I woke late the next morning to see Ginny and Lily off. They were going to spend some time with Mrs. Weasley, Ginny's mother for the weekend, which left me with the house. I would have opted to go with them, but I had work to be done this weekend and I couldn't avoid it, no matter how much I wanted to. Needless to say, it broke my heart a little to watch Ginny and our daughter disappear through the fireplace using Floo Powder to visit the Burrow.

It didn't take much for me to take one look around the house, though, to realize that I needed to tidy up before Draco's arrival. Sure, the Hollow, itself, was decently clean, but the majority of mine and Ginny's guests were Ron and Hermione, and their home was often far worse than ours in terms of its cleanliness. Since I was having Draco, a proud Malfoy, over for lunch, I wanted the place to be a little more presentable.

I tidied up the living room, dusting off the furniture and opening the drapes to let it light. I spruced up the pillows, waved my wand for a bit of a fresher smell before opening some of the windows to let in air. I dusted off the picture frames and reorganized messy piles of books, cleaning out random stains that I'd never seen before from the area rugs that we had.

It wasn't until the clock chimed one that I noticed how long I'd spent cleaning without starting lunch of any sorts. With a huff, I casted a charm to finish the cleaning as I scurried down the hallway from the living room to the kitchen to start lunch. I peered into the refrigerator, finding some chicken that Ginny had bought as well as ingredients to make a salad. Allowing myself a smile, I pulled everything out.

Setting everything out onto the counter, I began snatching out pots and pans as well as a chef's knife to cut up vegetables to go into the salad. I waved my wand again, muttering a soft charm to start the vegetable process as I turned on the stove to heat up the pan in which I would grill the chicken.

With little less than half an hour until Draco showed up, I made quick work on the lunch that I was preparing for the two of us. True, he wasn't due until two, but I found myself rushing to get things done so that it would be ready upon his arrival. The salad had been chopped and tossed into a bowl, ready for the dressing that was being stirred up to my right. The chicken was grilling on the stove and bread baking in the oven as I set out the plates and silverware.

If someone were to ask me why I had invited Draco over for lunch, I wouldn't have been able to give them a clear answer. Sure, I'd told Draco that I wanted to catch up with him, but I couldn't really think of what all I wanted to say to him. Sorry I was such an asshole to you for being forced to join Voldemort, I hope we can be friends? Doubtful, to be honest… In truth, it would be amazing if he showed up at all…

A heavy weight settled itself over my shoulders and I froze in mid step in the middle of the kitchen. Oh, God… What if Draco didn't show up? What if he just completely bailed and I, foolishly, made this lunch in the hopes of putting things right between the two of us? I bit down on my bottom lip, worry etching itself across my face as I let out a despaired breath. Draco wouldn't really, though, would he? He seemed pretty sincere when he said he would be here…

_He'll be here, Harry, calm down_, I told myself, sighing heavily as I finished setting the dishes out. Grabbing the small bowl that the dressing had been mixing itself together in, I poured the thick glaze over the salad, mixing it together before taking the bowl to the table and setting it down. Biting my lip, I checked the chicken, flipping it over once more before shutting the stove off and pushing the pan off the burner. Glancing up at the clock on the wall, the time read five minutes to two. Had so much time passed already?

Placing the chicken on a small platter, I set it down beside the salad bowl before removing the bread from the oven, dishing the slices out onto another small platter, setting it on the opposite side of the salad. Hurrying back over to the sink, I scrubbed my hands furiously, drying them off on a small hand towel before smoothing my shirt out. The sleeves were rolled up around my elbows and I had half a mind to roll them back down when the soft chime of the doorbell sounded. Looking back to the clock, I found that it was precisely two, and I smiled.

_Malfoys… Always so exact._ I thought to myself before making my way back down through the hall and towards the living room. Reaching the door, I inhaled slowly before pulling it open, seeing Draco standing on the other side. His platinum blond hair was neatly smoothed back against his skull, his grey-blue eyes tired. He wore a button up grey shirt with the neck undone, black slacks and a matching black blazer. I smiled.

"Hello, Draco," I said and he glanced up at me.

"Potter," I frowned and he cringed slightly, "Sorry, Harry… old habits…" He mumbled and I nodded once, stepping aside to let him enter. He seemed wary at first, but he took a tentative step, glancing around the living room as I shut the door behind him. "It looks nice," he said softly, "Very…homey.."

"Thanks," I murmured gently, and a crack of a smile curled at Draco's lips. "Uhm, lunch is ready. Kitchen and dining room's this way," I said, leading him through to the hall and down the kitchen slash dining room. Draco followed close behind me, silent the whole way even after I motioned to his seat. He sat as I dished the chicken onto his plate, and he reached for the salad.

"Would you like something to drink?" I offered, and Draco mumbled a soft "Water". I nodded once, fetching us both glasses of water, setting one down beside his plate before taking a seat across the table from him. He nodded once to me, gently taking a slice of bread and setting it down on his plate. I served myself my own salad and was reaching for a slice of bread when I realized Draco hadn't touched his food.

"What's wrong?" I asked and he sighed heavily.

"Why did you invite me? We hated each other all through school and then didn't speak for almost twenty years, and suddenly you talk to me at the Sorting ceremony and invite me over for lunch. Why?" He questioned, lifting his gaze to mine. I felt my heart tremble in my chest a little as I looked away from him.

"Because I wanted to apologize for all those years…" I told him gently, stabbing at my salad for a moment. In my peripheral, I could see Draco frowning, his fork speared through a small bite of chicken but he showed no initiative of eating it any time soon.

"Why? You _hated_ me, Harry.. You and Ron and Hermione and your wife… You all hated me, and that only grew when I joined Voldemort.. Why would you want to even acknowledge my existence after that?" Draco hissed, and I sighed, setting my fork down.

"Why did you come? If all you're so adamant to believe that I hate you, why did you come to my home to have lunch with me and me alone?" I retaliated, glaring across the table at him. Draco's eyes flickered back and forth between mine before leaving to penetrate the platter of bread to his side. I sighed softly, leaning back a little in my seat. "Look… I get it. We didn't have the best school life together. Part of that came from the crowds of people we hung around. Part of that came from our families. But, Draco, things have changed. I've changed, and so have you. Just because we weren't the best of friends in school doesn't mean we can't try now…" I said softly. Draco's eyes lifted to meet mine again.

"But why would you want to? Why would you want to be friends with me?" He asked again and I looked away. For years after the battle at Hogwarts I had been asking myself the very same question. Questions that were never fully answered and yet always got more and more complex in my head. Eventually I'd come to a conclusion, but I didn't want to admit it to anyone… not even myself, really.

"You wouldn't understand," I told him and Draco snorted softly.

"Try me, Potter," Draco insisted and I just chuckled, shaking my head once. "Alright fine. If you won't, then we'll go back to square one. You said you wanted to catch up, right?" I nodded once, "What do you want to know?" I bit down on my bottom lip, stabbing my salad.

"Why aren't you and your wife getting along?" I asked, wondering after the words had left my lips if it was too sudden of a question. When I glanced up to see Draco's withdrawn expression, I had to assume that my initial thought was right. "I'm sorry, I'm being too..nosy.."

"Yeah, you are," Draco snapped and I frowned softly, muttering another apology. He stared at me for a moment before sighing heavily. "We just fight a lot. She's never home to see her son. She's never home, period… I just.. I don't love her anymore. I haven't in years, really." He explained and I nodded once, though I felt like there was something he wasn't telling me.

"So, what… just a falling out sort of deal?" I inquired and Draco lifted a shoulder, shrugging softly, much like he'd done the night before when he showed me the burn on his arm where the Dark Mark had been.

"I guess you could say that. I'm really only still staying with her because my son has this idea that one day we'll see the light and find the love we used to have. He's holding onto this hope despite the fact that his mother has blatantly removed herself from his life. From my life. Not that I care, really," he mumbled and I frowned.

"So… If you're not in love with her anymore, why don't you get involved with anyone else? I mean, obviously you're not happy with her…" I offered and Draco just snorted, shaking his head before taking a bite of his food.

"Who would want to get involved with me? I'm a traitor to the Wizarding world for aligning myself with Voldemort and then running away when I had the chance to redeem myself. Most of the people I work with in the Ministry only do so because their job requires it, and not because they want to…" I bit my lip.

"Surely there must be someone you fancy?" Draco went silent for a moment, refusing to look at me as a soft pink tint crossed his cheeks. I raised an eyebrow at him but he didn't say anything. He merely shoved a bite of chicken into his mouth, chewing slowly on it.

After a long moment of chewing and finally swallowing, Draco sighed heavily, "Yes… t-there is," he stammered, and my eyebrow rose further, "But you wouldn't understand.." He said quickly and I sighed, rolling my eyes.

"Seriously? Try me, Malfoy." I told him and he glanced over at me, his eyes narrowed.

"Fine. Do you really want to know why I don't love my wife? Why I fight with her and why I put up with her for my son's sake?" He hissed and I nodded slightly, suddenly very afraid. "It's not just my wife. It's women. It's female anatomy. I don't want to be with women, period, Potter." My eyes widened a little and I felt my heart skip a beat, launch to my throat and then jump back down, racing wildly.

"Draco, you're—" he sighed heavily.

"Yes, I'm gay. Are you happy? Is that what you wanted to hear? To know that your biggest rival from school fancies it up the arse?" Draco tossed his napkin down onto the table, standing up suddenly and staring down at me. I was speechless as he looked away, his shoulders slumping.

"This was a mistake. I'll see myself out…" He muttered, turning and walking out of the dining room. I blinked once, trying to comprehend what had just happened before finally launching from my own seat, following him.

"Draco! Draco, wait!" I called, but I heard the front door slam shut and a loud _crack!_ to tell me that Draco Malfoy had apparated away from the Hollow, leaving me alone. A defeated sigh fell from my lips and I leaned against the hallway wall, three unspoken words falling from my tongue.

"I am, too…"


	3. It's About as Bad as It Could Be

**Chapter Three: It's About as Bad as It Could Be…  
>Draco's POV<strong>

"Mr. Malfoy?" a secretary called from the other side of my office door and I sighed deeply, putting my head into my hands. After my lunch with Harry Potter, the last thing I wanted to do was deal with other people. I felt like no matter where I went, everyone looked at me like they all knew I was a faggot and that I didn't love my wife (which, of course, I didn't really).

"Come in," I called but made no effort to get up and greet her. I was sure I looked like a mess. My suit's jacket was draped over my chair and my tie was pulled open, along with the top two buttons of my shirt. I couldn't really explain it, but I felt hot and cramped in my office, even though the room was huge, light and airy. It had enough room for my desk, my chair, two client chairs and two wardrobes opposite one another and the room still felt empty. I had a few filing cabinets set up on either side of the wardrobes and then there was one closet between a filing cabinet and my desk.

A short, blonde girl with a full hourglass figure and five inch heels came into my office. It always amazed me that women could actually walk with their feet at such an intense angle but as long as I didn't have to do it. She walked over to my desk and sat a stake of papers down in front of me. "The Minister asked me to bring these over for you to look at. He wants your opinion on them before he does anything," she said. Even if most people thought I was a traitor to the Wizarding World and got away with it, I was the very best at what I did and the Minister did confined in my opinions, amazing enough.

"All right," I mumbled, pulling the files close. "Tell him I will have them reviewed before my shift ends," I added, flipping the top file open and resting my chin against my curled knuckles, my elbow resting against the Cherry wood of my desk. She nodded to me but she just stood in front of my desk, even though I was no longer giving her my attention. "Is there anything else?" I asked, glancing up at her again.

"Um… Yes… Mr. Potter wanted me to let you know that he will be stopping in for a few moments in about an hour or so," she said and my eyes widened just a tad.

"Potter? Why?" I hissed, sounding a little crueler than I meant to. A little jolt of shock and maybe just a tad bit of fear passed over her face and she took a step backwards. Damn, I hated when people were afraid of me. Why couldn't anyone really understand that I didn't _want_ to be a Death Eater and I didn't _want_ to align myself with Voldemort but I was _forced_ to. That was why I wasn't arrested along with my father! I wasn't a criminal and I wasn't really all that terrifying… Talk about being labeled for life. Teenage girls have no idea how good they have it.

"I'm not sure, Mr. Malfoy, but he seemed very adamant about seeing you…" she whispered, biting her red painting lip in nervousness. Sighing, I dropped my eyes back to the file and gave her the slightest nod of my head. I wondered if she really even noticed it.

"Is that all?" I asked her without looking up at her. I could feel the tenseness in the atmosphere. She didn't really want to be in my office and I didn't want her there. If I had the option of leaving, I gladly would have. After yesterday's lunch fiasco, I wanting nothing more than to return to my empty house and avoid Harry Potter for as long as I possibly could. I couldn't really imagine why he would even want to come and see me. Probably just to tell me off for yesterday.

"Yes, Mr. Malfoy, that's everything," she said quietly.

"Then you may go," I muttered into the file. I listened to her heels click across the wooden floor and then my door click closed. I sighed again, closing the file and standing up. I could probably just clock out, claim I wasn't feeling well and take these files home with me to review. The Minister probably wouldn't want anyone else to see the files until he made a decision on what to do about the matter they discussed, but there wasn't anyone at my house (it really couldn't be described as a home, there wasn't much love there to make it a home). My son was in Hogwarts now and my wife? Thinking that she would be there was almost worth a laugh, almost.

Crossing to the closet, I slid the door open and reached inside, pulling my coat off of its hanger and knelt down to grab my brief case. The last thing I could deal with right now was Harry Potter, so I needed to just leave before he showed up. My days of confronting him were pretty much behind me by now. I didn't see any reason to need to deal with him now… Maybe there was? No, there really wasn't… I needed to just leave.

But wouldn't that just be another cowardly move? Haven't I performed my fair share of those in my life already? It was like being stuck between and a rock and Harry. "Fuck…" I muttered, setting my brief case back down and standing up straight to place my coat neatly on the hanger again.

"Draco." I nearly jumped into the doorframe of the closet. I never even heard anyone come in through the door and surely manners would tell someone to knock or call for me before walking right through a closed door, unless the secretary didn't shut my door. But she did, didn't she? God, I didn't bloody know.

Turning, still clenching my coat, I found none other than Harry Potter standing in the middle of my office, his glasses slightly askew and his hair that tidy mess it always was. I really couldn't figure out how he managed to make messy hair look so nice and attractive… "Haven't you ever heard of knocking?" I hissed, turning back to the closet to hang my coat back on its hanger. "The secretary said you weren't coming for an hour." I really hoped it hadn't been an hour since the woman left, because if it had, I was surely losing what sanity I had left.

"She did, and I was planning on coming in an hour, but I thought that if I really did wait an hour, it would give you time to clock out early and go home," he muttered. Damn, he was smarter than he looked, really. "Obviously I was right, since you look like you're getting ready to high tail it out of here."

"I wasn't leaving," I snapped, turning back to him and sliding the closet door. "But, as you can see by my less than acceptable appearance, I'm not feeling very well, so what do you want?" A million scenarios were running through my mind. Maybe he was here to apologize about last night and explain it was all a misunderstanding or a mistake. That seemed like a very Potter-like thing to do. Or maybe he was here to ridicule me for what I told him yesterday, which was a huge mistake on my part. I had no one but myself to blame for letting my sexual orientation slip out to him.

Harry frowned a little and he walked over to my desk, sitting in one of the cushioned and expensive-looking client chairs. Great, that probably meant he didn't have any intentions of leaving any time soon. Maybe if I just aparated… Like yesterday. "I want to talk to you, Draco," he said. I didn't think I was every going to get used to hearing my first name fall from his lips. He never called me by my first name before, so it was an odd thing to hear now.

"Potter—Harry, I'm really not up to talking, so if you don't mind—" I started but Harry didn't want to hear it. He pulled his wand out and flicked it, sending the office door shut and surely locked.

"Draco, please sit down," he said, looking up at me. I frowned, walking over to the other chair and sitting down next to him but far enough away that I didn't feel like my personal space was being invaded. "I wanted to talk to you about yesterday…"

"What is there to talk about?" I snapped, almost automatically growing defensive. It was one of the only ways I knew how to protect myself anymore. "If you're here to criticize me, I don't need to hear it. I already know how disgusting I am, thanks."

Harry's head snapped up and his eyes locked onto mine. I was shocked to see absolutely no hatred or ridicule. His eyes looked soft and inviting, perhaps a bit hurt by my harshness. "Draco… That's not what I came over here for at all," he said quietly, his eyes filling with what I thought to be just a touch of hurt as well, though I could have been wrong. I wasn't very good at reading emotions that was for sure. "And you aren't disgusting… Don't even talk about yourself that way. Why would you think I would come all the way to your office just to tell you off?"

"Because anyone else would," I said to him, trying to keep my tone calm and less harsh. "And if you aren't here for that, but you're here to talk about yesterday's lunch, what else could you possibly want to talk about?"

"I wanted to… to tell you that I don't care that you're gay. It doesn't matter to me if you like boys," he said, lifting his eyes back to mine. They were a little wide, fearful even, maybe of my rejection? "And I'm not going to tell anyone that you're gay. I wouldn't do that to you. I just… you disappeared so fast, I couldn't tell you that it didn't matter if you were gay or not. I know why you ran, because you're afraid, but you don't need to be, Draco. It truly, honestly, doesn't matter to me."

I frowned and looked away from him, my eyes fixing on the unread files on my desk instead. "Harry, why are you so insistent on building a relationship… friendship with me? We were never friends in school; in fact, we were rivals, enemies even. Why try to make something now?" I asked him, my tone surprisingly soft. I could tell that Harry was looking at me, watching me even, but I didn't want to look back at him. I was feeling too vulnerable to let him see my eyes.

"Because… Because, I kind of know how you feel about, you know, feeling like you've made mistakes in your life and that you aren't really with the right… people," he said and he seemed to be choosing his words very carefully.

"What does you making mistakes, whatever they may be, have to do with me?" I asked him, finally turning my head back to him. Our eyes locked for a moment and Harry was looking just as vulnerable as I felt.

He sighed for a minute, glancing away from me before slowly bringing his eyes back to mine. "I've been thinking a lot about when we met… About how you wanted to be my friend then. The truth is, I wanted to be your friend too, but I was too afraid to try. You held your hand out to me and all I could think about was Ron and Hermione rejecting me. I was already friends with them and I knew they wouldn't accept you. You wouldn't accept them either, so I made a choice. I decided that you were that bad guy, the kid that nobody wanted to get involved with and, for a while, it worked just fine, but it definitely didn't last very long."

"Elaborate?" I muttered, frowning and mentally kicking myself for prying even more. I wasn't really sure this was something I was going to want to hear.

"The older we got, the more I realized that you weren't really cruel and mean because that was just how you were, but because of your father and because of Voldemort. I know you didn't want to be a Death Eater. The older we got, the more I could see how miserable and terrified you were, especially during our sixth year and then when we didn't go for our seventh year, the few times I saw you, it looked like you wanted nothing more than to run away and be free but you couldn't because Voldemort would have killed you," he rambled and I just frowned even more.

"I don't really follow you. What does any of this have to do with us being friends?" I asked and he turned in his seat and face me completely.

"Draco, we never had to be enemies in the first place and the more I think about it, the more I regret all the times we fought! We could have been friends since forever and that is starting to bother me more and more," he admitted and then he took a completely different course. "Truth be told, when we were in the Room of Requirement, during the battle and the room caught on fire, I didn't go back for you because I felt like it was the right thing to do…"

I blinked, a bit dumbfounded for a moment. "Then why did you save me?" I asked and then it dawned on me. "You came back because you _wanted_ to save _me_… Why?" I asked, shaking my head some. It made sense, but at the same time, it made absolutely no sense. Why would Harry want to save me just for the sake of being able to save _me_ when we'd always been enemies?

"Because I…" Harry shook his head some, looking down at his shoes, or something the floor next to his shoes, I couldn't really be sure. "I really don't know. It was like a kick in the stomach saying something like 'you better get your ass back in there to save Draco Malfoy'. It wasn't about doing the right thing… It was… I don't know…" he kept mumbling, but I kind of felt like he was lying to himself and me.

An awkward silence fell in the room for the longest five minutes of my life. The tension was so thick in the room; I could have sworn I could have cut it with a knife.

Swallowing after a while, I turned to face Harry the same way he'd done a few minutes earlier. "Harry?" I muttered, breaking the silence. He looked up at me, his eyes still a little wide. "Are you gay?" I asked after a few moments of staring into his eyes.

His eyes went round enough to match the roundness of his glasses and for another five minutes, we sat in silence, just staring at each other. I knew Harry wanted to look away but he couldn't bring himself to.

Finally he muttered a very quiet "Yes…"


	4. Are We Getting Closer

**Chapter Four: Nowhere Left To Go, Are We Getting Closer, Closer?  
>Harry's POV<strong>

"Yes.."

I knew the day was coming. I knew there would be a moment where I had to admit not only to myself but to someone else that I was gay. I just never, exactly, expected the first person to hear it to be Draco Malfoy. I didn't expect to tell him in his office at the Ministry in the middle of the day.

Then again I wasn't really sure what to expect, really. When Draco had asked me, flat out, if I was gay, I couldn't speak for a moment. My eyes had gone wide and I was speechless, but I knew that I had to answer him. Or I could let my silence answer for me. But all the same, he deserved a proper answer. I had forced the truth out of him yesterday over that failed lunch, it was the least I could do to provide the same truth to him.

The "yes" passed between my lips before I could even truly fathom it. It was just under a breath, soft and barely there. I couldn't look at Draco for a moment after I'd said it. The moment it slipped, I looked away from him. I had to break the contact or I knew that my knees would fail me. It was hard enough trying to maintain that connection with him, telling him the truth more with my eyes than my voice.

There was silence between us for the longest time. I kept my gaze down on my hands which were folded neatly in my lap. I was chewing on the inside of my cheek, trying to breathe evenly as I waited for Draco to speak. But the only sound I heard from him was the sound of his soft breathing. The soft intake of breath and the quiet rush of the out.

I swallowed the lump in my throat, slowly lifting my gaze to meet his. My cheeks were flaming gently and when my emerald eyes met his icy blue ones I felt my heart skip a beat. I bit down on my bottom lip a little bit, trying to push away the fear. Would Draco just laugh at me? Would he kick me out of his office? Would he ridicule me or…? Oh, God, what was I thinking in telling him?

"You are?" He whispered gently, and I nodded once slightly, looking away again. I wasn't sure why, but I just couldn't face him. I couldn't look at him with this truth between us that I was bent. That we were both bent.

"Well, then…" Draco mumbled softly and I glanced back up over at him through my glasses, gnawing furiously on my bottom lip. "That.. explains a lot, doesn't it?" I held my gaze on his face as he looked away towards the floor. My heart was skipping beat after beat in my chest and I was running scenarios through my head faster than I had ever run Quidditch strategies.

There was a long pause of silence, much like the ones that had happened before I'd told him the truth. Draco kept fiddling with the hem of his sleeve on his shirt before messing with his tie. I was doing all I could to keep my hands knotted on my lap. How could he sit there so calmly while I was here, fighting not keep my composure and yet destroying my bottom lip all the same?

When Draco let out a long and heavy sigh, I thought that was it. I thought for sure he was going to tell me to leave and to never speak to him again. In fact, I had unknotted my hands from one another and slid them onto the armrests to push myself out of the chair, ready to go, when he spoke again. "How long.. have you known?"

I couldn't answer right away. Whether my lungs had suddenly collapsed or my throat just crumpled in on itself, I wasn't sure. But I couldn't make a sound. I sat there with my hands squeezing the armrests as I stared at him. My tongue felt thick in my mouth and I was certain that it was going to swell and cut off any real hope of air I had. Licking my lips with the tip, I tore my gaze from him again. For being someone who was so eloquent and so confident when speaking to people, I was really tearing that reputation down for myself with this conversation.

"Many," I choked out. "Many years…" My voice was soft, barely above a murmur, but it was there enough that Draco's eyes widened a little from my peripheral, and he leaned forward somewhat, his elbows resting on his knees.

"How did you know? Uhmm.. well, I mean, you know, how did you find out?" He continued, tilting his head a little to the side and studying my face as if hoping to find the answer there. I met his eyes only for a brief moment before looking away again, licking the corner of my mouth.

"Well… I knew I felt different.. and it was always toward one person in particular," I said, seeing a blond eyebrow raising slightly in a neat and perfect arch. "I mean, we never really.. got along like we should have and I think back on that now and I hate that we were never closer. It would have given us such an opportunity to make different choices. I feel like had I gotten close to him like I wanted to, I could have…saved him from an awful fate that he didn't want.

"And… things happened and I was brought before him and many other dark wizards and he lied for me. He lied to save me," I mumbled, glancing at Draco through the top of my glasses. His eyes were wide as he stared at me. He knew. I looked away again. "And, later, I went back into what Hell must surely be like to save him in return. And I'll never forgot the way he held onto me…" I trailed off and Draco let out a stuttered breath.

"Harry…" He whispered and I glanced over at him again, more confident about where we were and what we were saying now than I had been five minutes ago. Draco's icy blue eyes seemed to penetrate and freeze my very soul. "You can't seriously… I mean, how.. why would you…"

"Why would I—what?" I inquired, my words soft and serene and Draco blinked, shaking his head.

"No.. you can't seriously love—" I frowned.

"Who.. you, Draco?" He snapped his mouth shut, staring hard at me. "Why not? Because, well, I think that I can. In fact, I _know_ I can. I have. Since school. Since you saved my life and since I saved yours. And I didn't really realize it until I saw you at our sons' sorting ceremony, when you looked utterly miserable. All I could think of doing was making you smile. Of making you happy… and I really, really doubt that if I wanted to do that for you, if _I_ wanted to be the one to make you feel whole, that I wouldn't love you as well…"

Draco's eyes were locked with mine, his mouth parted in the softest gasp as he shook his head once ever so slightly. I wasn't even sure if he was breathing for a long while. He didn't seem to acknowledge anything, not even when my hands slipped from the side arms of the chair and I pushed myself in front of him, resting on my knees between his, my hands reaching out to take his shaking ones. "Draco… Please.. Things aren't as impossible as they seem to be.." I told him and he blinked, shaking his head.

"No.. Harry.. _You_ are the savior of the whole bloody Wizarding world. _You_ are married to Ginevra Weasley and you're happily in love and you have three beautiful children in a wonderful home. You _can't_ love me because that would destroy everything for you and it would crush Ginny… Y-you're just confused, Harry—" I rolled my eyes and pushed myself up a little more, slamming my mouth against his in a hot, sudden kiss. Draco moaned, his hands flying out of mine and he gripped my shoulders as if to push me away. I slid my tongue along his bottom lip, feeling him shake as he moaned again. I pushed it into his mouth, past his teeth and the grip he had on my faltered.

My hands slid up along his thighs as I kissed him deeply, moaning gently as his lips molded against mine. My tongue brushed against his inside of his mouth and I shivered at the cool taste of him; minty and sharp like ice. One of Draco's hands curled tight around my shoulder while the other shifted, his fingers burying themselves deep into the mess of my black hair. He pulled slightly and I gasped against his lips.

Somehow Draco had taken control, for when my lips parted against his he took the opening. He plunged his tongue deep into my mouth in such a kiss that, if I weren't kneeling on the floor, I would have crumpled from under it. Slowly I pulled myself up into the chair with him, my knees straddling his lap as he kissed me. My left hand pushed under his tie, flattening against the top of his chest and over his right collarbone while my right cupped his cheek.

Draco pulled away after a moment and I whined softly, panting against his lips as my hand slid from his cheek, curling around the side of his neck. He rested his forehead against mine for the longest time, his hand curved around the back of my neck, the other palmed over my heart. "Harry…" he whispered gently, and I moaned in response, leaning forward to steal another kiss.

Tightening his grip on my neck, Draco directed our kiss, leading me as I slid my tongue between his lips again. My hands dropped to his tie, my fingers slowly pulling it undone before tossing it aside, uncaring of where it fell. Draco shivered under my touch as my fingers ghosted alone his neck and jaw, feeling the slight blond stubble of a beard. I smiled against his lips, pulling away to press a kiss to his jaw.

"Harry…" Draco groaned quietly. I reached up, curling my fingers around the top buttons of his shirt, the ones that weren't yet undone. Slowly, I popped one after another free, resting my hand against the soft flesh of his chest. Buttons came unfastened and I pressed my hand to the center of his chest, between his nipples and I felt them. The scars I had inflicted upon him with the sectumsempra curse in our sixth year. A pang of regret and sorrow filled me quickly and I hesitated. My lips were still pressed to his jaw and my hand on his chest, but I was frozen against him like this.

"Harry?" Draco murmured softly, tilting his head down to look at me. Our eyes met for a moment before he gazed past that and stared down at my hand. He sighed softly, lifting his focus to me again. "Harry…" he said again, his eyes softening softly at me. I bit my lip, swallowing the lump in the back of my throat.

Draco leaned forward, kissing me so soft and tenderly that my hand fell away from his chest. His hands came up to slowly loosen my tie before pulling it free entirely, tossing it away as I had done with his tie. He deepened our kiss as he popped buttons free, pushing my shirt off of my shoulders.

Moaning softly, I dug my nails into his hip above the belt in his trousers, shivering as he hissed and bit down on my bottom lip. Gasping softly, I felt his teeth slice into the skin and cut it open. Blood swelled and pooled into my mouth, slow and slight before he kissed me again, licking at my lip and my bloodied tongue.

Draco had just slid his hands over my chest, sliding them along my shoulders as he kissed my neck when there was a knock at the door. We froze, pressed against one another in complete silence as another knock sounded. Groaning quietly, Draco rested his head against mine for a moment. "Come on, get up…" He told me and I whined, sliding off of his lap, trying to ignore the erection I was suddenly sporting. Going to his desk, Draco grabbed his wand, flicking it at me. My shirt buttoned itself and my tie was lifted from the floor, wrapped snugly around my neck and tied.

Draco buttoned himself up, grabbing his tie and quickly fastening it around his neck before going to the door. I sat back down, running fingers through my hair to smoothen it out as he opened it, poking his head out. I heard soft mumbling and a rather displeased growl from Draco before the door shut again. I bit down on my bottom lip as he walked back over, sitting down in the chair opposite from me.

It dawned on me as I fidgeted with my tie what we had been doing. That we had been stripping each, kissing and silently needing.. A fierce blush crossed my face as Draco smirked at me from where he sat. "Something wrong, Potter?" I glared and flashed two fingers at him.


	5. When You Came In the Air Went Out

**Chapter Five: When You Came In the Air Went Out  
>Draco's POV<strong>

As I stepped into the fireplace to travel home using floo powder, I was hit was a wave of regret. Usually I didn't want to leave the office because I didn't want to deal with my wife, but now it was more than that. I didn't want to leave because I wanted to haul Harry back to my office and throw him down onto my desk.

I could still feel his warmth pressed up against me, his knees straddling my hips and his tongue wandering the inside of my mouth. I could still taste him, hot and sweet, almost like cinnamon. It had truly been years since someone had kissed me so passionately, like my partner truly wanted to be with me and no one else. To leave all of that greatly upset me, even if it was Harry Potter I was so very close to being intimate with.

The truth was, I'd always felt that pang of needing him, the very same feeling he described to me earlier. That feeling of being drawn to one particular person during school, even though he was supposed to be my rival, my enemy. I tried my best to hate him and to loathe him, to beat him at everything. For the most part, it worked and I was able to cover up my feelings, but when I left Hogwarts to be a true Death Eater with the Dark Mark, I couldn't fight it anymore.

My life was swimming with fear every day and night. I didn't want to fight on the side of Voldemort but I didn't have any choice. If I didn't side with Voldemort, he would have killed me, so I tried to be the Death Eater that Voldemort wanted, what he expected from me. I never really accomplished it but I managed well enough… Until Harry was brought to Malfoy Manor and Bellatrix wanted me to tell her if it truly was Harry or not. That was the first time my feelings really kicked up and it wasn't just about doing the right thing. It was also about the feelings that were swelling in my heart, like the last good thing I had left to cling to while my whole entire life crumbled around me.

Then I needed to confront him during the battle for Hogwarts and I failed epically at that. I did confront him but the fighting him thing didn't really work out too well. Then my bone head "friends" caught the Room of Requirement on fire and I truly thought I was going to die. When Harry pulled me onto his broom, I clung to him like my life depended on it. Partly because it did, but partly because I never really wanted to let go of him again.

I should have stayed at Hogwarts to fight with him. Maybe things would have turned out completely different for all of us.

Sighing deeply, I stepped into the fireplace and looked out, seeing Harry watching me from the other side of the hall. He blushed when he saw that he was caught and I couldn't really fight the little smirk that tugged at my lips as I tossed the floo powder down, muttering my house and being wrapped in an obnoxious green flame. I never really liked travelling this way because it made me feel nauseous, but it was a hell of a lot better than walking or trying to drive a Muggle car.

"Draco Malfoy, where the fuck have you been?" I heard Astoria screech the second I stepped out of the fireplace in our massive living room. I had this house built for Astoria as a wedding gift and I spared no expense on the project. It was almost as big as Malfoy Manor and twice as beautiful but it never truly felt like home, especially when I came back to it just to hear someone hollering at me.

"I had to work late to finish something up for the Minister," I said, brushing myself off as I stepped out of the fireplace and pulled my jacket off, though something told me I should probably keep it on because I would have to leave the house to keep myself from snapping and lashing out at Astoria. I wasn't really lying, because of my little episode with Harry in my office, I didn't get a chance to look over the files that the Minister wanted me to read until right before my shift ended, so I had to stay late to finish those up. Apparently Harry had to stay late just to finish his work as well.

"Bull shit, Draco! You always bitch about me never being home and when I try to be home for you, you don't come home until almost three hours after your shift ended! What the fuck?" she spat at me and she stormed over to me, the heels she never took off were clicking into the marble floor.

"It hasn't been three hours, Astoria, stop over reacting." I should have felt awful for cheating on her with another man, but I really didn't. She didn't feel bad for running around without me, so why should I? "I really did have to work late. I'm sorry, but the Minister wanted me to review some files for him and I didn't have time to get it done along with all the normal things I needed to do, so I apologize."

She put her hands on her hips, something she really only did when she wasn't pleased, but she was contemplating. "Well, then why aren't you happy to see that I'm home and that I made a nice dinner for the both of us? I thought we could have some time alone together now that Scorpius is in school," she said, her tone softening slightly. She was acting rather strange. She never made dinner, but I could smell freshly grilled steak. She probably just flicked her wand to make it, instead of actually cooking, but it was a meal ready for me nevertheless. She also never wanted to spend time with me, so why would she want to now?

None of it was really adding up, but I didn't want to fight with her and I didn't really have the concentration to linger on an argument. I was still wrapped up in Harry's kiss and his hands spreading across my bare skin…

"Draco?" she hissed, coming up to stand right in front of me. I sighed softly, reaching out to take her hands, hoping the gesture would show her that I did want to be with her, even though I truly didn't.

"I'm sorry, Astoria, I am happy to see you home, truly," I lied. I didn't like that she was always running around instead of being home, but that was mostly because she was ignoring our child when she wasn't home. Now that Scorpius was at Hogwarts, I didn't truly care if she was home or not because I didn't want to be around her and she didn't want to be around me.

A soft smile stretched across her pink-painted lips and she slid her hands up my arms, wrapping them loosely around my neck and pressing herself to me. "Oh good, because I was kind of hoping that after dinner we could…" she presses a kiss to the underside of my jaw, much like Harry had only it didn't feel the same. "Skip dessert…"

"What has gotten into you?" I whispered, gently wrapping my arms around her hips. She fit perfectly against me. Harry was about her size and he fit even more perfectly. "You haven't wanted this kind of attention from me in years," I stated and she pulled back just enough that I could see her frown.

"Well, I never felt that it was really appropriate to do such activities with a young child in the house," she muttered and I had to keep myself from rolling my eyes. Our house was plenty big enough that he would never even be able to hear us if we truly were having sex. Not to mention he was in bed by nine, ten at the latest and he slept like the dead. There was truly no reason that we didn't have sex other than her not wanting to be physical with me and vice versa. "And now that he's at school, I thought—"

She stopped and leaned closer to me. I thought that she was, perhaps, going to press another kiss to the underside of my jaw but she didn't. She just stood there for a moment, her face buried into my neck and the collar of my coat.

"What's that smell?" she demanded, and I realized then that she had been sniffing me. She took a step back, staring up at me with wide eyes. "Why do you smell like you're wearing two different types of cologne?"

_Fuck!_

"I… I don't?" I muttered, pretending to have no idea what she was talking about. "Just the cologne you bought for me the last time you went shopping." Which I hated, by the way. It didn't smell terrible, but it smelled a little too girly for me. I didn't like perfume, an even if I was secretly (not so secretly anymore) gay, I wasn't a woman.

"No, you smell like more than that," she muttered, staring up at me with wide, accusing eyes. "You smell like another man… Like you were right up against someone else."

"I can't help it if I end up brushing up against other people at the Ministry, Astoria. I assure you, it's nothing," I told her, frowning at her. "I work with a lot of other men. I can't help it if some of their cologne rubs off on me. It's nothing." She didn't really look convinced at all.

"Then why don't you smell like a million colognes? You only smell like yours and one that doesn't smell like you." She put her hands back on her hips, her lips stretching into a tight frown. "And you never work with anyone else. You just stay locked up in your office and when you do have to associate with other people, you keep your distance. I know you, Draco Malfoy, so you didn't just _pick up_ another scent! So what were you _doing_ and _who_ were you doing it with?"

"Are you accusing me of cheating?" I asked, taking a step away from her. "Because if you are, I daresay you are definitely stepping outside of your bounds. You have the nerve to accuse me of cheating when you're hardly ever home? Why the Hell are you even home now? Did your boyfriend call up and dump you, so you figured my dick would suit your needs until you found something better?" I shouted, clenching my hands tightly into fists at my side.

For a moment, she was shocked into silence, but it didn't last very long. I found with women that it hardly ever did. They were always going to have the last word and they were always going to win.

"So you think that I don't want to be with you? Or is that what you're telling yourself so you don't feel guilty about running behind my back with some tramp?" she hissed.

"That is what I believe because it is _fact_, Astoria!" I shouted at her. "You are never with me because you are always with someone else, so don't you even dare accuse me of being unfaithful!"

"Oh my god…" she whispered, staring at me with a look of shock and horror in her eyes. "Now it makes so much sense… Why you never seem happy, why you spend all your time at work and now you come home late, smelling like a completely foreign man… My god, you're… You're _bent_!" she shouted at me. "I can't… I can't believe this. My husband fancies it up the arse? You… You're disgusting!"

Anger and fear were boiling up in my stomach. I didn't want to think that she really believed I was such, but now that she had said it out loud, she would always believe it true. I couldn't deny it because it was true and I didn't want to fix things with her, I only want her to think of me as normal.

But now she knew.

"I am not…" I whispered and her eyes went wide, her mouth dropping open in a fit of anger. "And," I continued, grasping my balls back. "Even if I was bent, which I am _not_, it still gives you no right to be unfaithful to me. It gives you no right to prance around with whoever you wish, leaving your husband and your son forgotten. It gives you no right to neglect your boy and it gives you no right to accuse me of anything!" I shouted at her.

"Draco!" she shouted, but I didn't give her the chance to continue in on the hour-long rant she probably wanted to throw at me.

"No, Astoria, I'm _done_ with your shit and I do not care if you think I'm bent or the most disgusting person on the face of the planet! You have _no right_ to act the way you do. I do nothing but provide for you and for my child, to keep you living the high life and I'm absolutely fucking done with it!" I shouted at her, pulling my wand out and waving it. A trunk, much like what we used for school came whirling down the stairs with most of the things that I cared about magically packed into it.

"I don't want you anywhere near my son again, do you hear me? And I am done paying your bills," I hissed, grabbing hold of my trunk, putting my suitcase on top of it and pocketing my wand again.

She continued to stare at me. "You can't be serious…" she whispered and I glared at her.

"I'm nothing but serious. You being around my son is nothing but poison for him and I am tired of seeing the hurt, terrified look in his eyes every time we fight. He thinks we're going to find old love but we won't and I am done breaking his heart. I'm done letting him think that his mother gives a fucking damn about him. I don't want you near him again and you can take this to court is you really want to, but who do you think is really going to win? The man who works to support his family and spends all of his time with his son or the woman who is never home for her son or her husband?" I asked, pulling my trunk towards the front door. "Keep the god damned house, I never wanted it to begin with."

"Draco you can't just—" she was saying, but I apparated, not entirely sure where I would go, but anywhere that wasn't with her was better than my current position.

I ended up in a park, close to the Ministry on a bench with my elbows on my knees and my head in my hands. Tears were streaking my face as much as I didn't want them to. I couldn't believe what had just happened but in a way, I was relieved. I didn't have to keep up a charade of loving my wife anymore, but what if she told other people that I was gay? Well, perhaps they wouldn't believe her, they would just think she was an angry woman who was dumped on her ass, but some people would believe it. I didn't want to think about what would happen if people did start to believe it and worse, if someone found out I'd nearly shagged Harry Potter in my office.

The first thing I needed to take care of was finding some place to stay though. For a while, I could stay in a hotel, I could certainly afford it, but I would need to find a more permanent residency, so I could provide for my son.


	6. More Than Some Pretty Face

**Chapter Six: More Than Some Pretty Face…**

**Harry's POV**

"Ginny, love? Are you ready to go?" I asked her, poking my head through the doorway of her office. Ginny glanced up at me with her bright red hair hanging in thick, wavy curtains around her face. She smiled warmly at me and nodded once, putting a few files away in a drawer in her desk.

"Just about, yes. Go ahead and wait out there for me," she said and I nodded once, backtracking a little bit. I ended up sitting on a small bench beside her door with my briefcase resting beside me. I sighed softly, folding my hands into my lap as my brain went spinning off in a different direction with the events that had happened just a few hours before. I hadn't, exactly, anticipated kissing and rubbing against Draco Malfoy so hard that I was painfully aroused. I might have hoped, but I wasn't expecting it.

Even though it had happened several hours ago, I could still feel him against me. His hands all over me, touching and groping and pulling at my hair. I could still feel his lips pressed to mine, his tongue pushing and pumping between my teeth. The sensations that I wanted—_needed_—more from him making me shake and shiver and moan. I could still hear him moaning in my ear with such beautiful pleasure…

I bit down on my bottom lip, swallowing the groan that threatened to sound from within my chest. It wouldn't serve well to become aroused at the memory of another man's touch and kiss with my wife just in the other room. At the thought of this, I sighed heavily and unfolded my hands, burying my face into them. While my body and part of my heart enjoyed Draco's presence, my mind was screaming at me for what I had done…

_You're cheater, Potter. You're a cheater and a vow breaker._ A few kisses and touches might have been one thing, but Draco and I had begun to strip each other. We had intentions and wants that surpassed the simple excitement of teenage romance. It was evident in our bodies and our ragged breathing between kisses that we wanted more, and we would have had it had we not been interrupted.

A cold, gripping sensation clung to my heart and I gasped softly, shivering a little. I had cheated on my wife in the work place with another man. What would she think of me if she ever found out that I had cheated? That I was bent? That I had been in love with Draco Malfoy, my sworn rival, since school? Sure, Ginny and I had an honest and open—for the most part—relationship with one another, but I'd never told her about my feelings for Draco.

It was no secret that I loved Ginny. I'd loved her faithfully for over twenty years. I'd had beautiful and wonderful children with her and I had planned on spending the rest of my life with her. But Draco… Draco had awakened within me what I'd been afraid to admit I ever had. What man, no matter his age, wants to admit that he's bent, truly? Even the most obvious ones?

"Harry?" I heard Ginny say and I looked over to her, seeing her office door shut and she, herself, standing over me. She looked concerned with her coat hanging off of her frame nice and loose. I smiled at her. "Are you alright?" She asked me and I nodded once, grabbing my briefcase and standing. I was as tall as she was and met her eyes easily.

"Yes, I'm fine," I told her, giving her a gentle kiss. "I'm just tired more than anything. This has been an incredibly long day for me," it wasn't a total lie, but it wasn't the complete truth, either. "More than anything I just want to go home, eat some dinner and cuddle." Smiling, Ginny gave a small laugh before pressing another kiss to my lips. I moaned quietly, comparing her lips to Draco's briefly before pushing the thought away. I felt foul for cheating but I couldn't really help it either. Well, I could have, but… Oh, God..

"You ready to go, then?" She asked and I nodded once, taking her hand. Draco had gone about an hour before. He'd caught me staring after him as he stepped into one of the many fireplaces for the Floo Network to send him home. But even as I watched him disappear, I noticed the smirk fade just before the brilliant green flames enveloped him, and he had the expression that I'd seen at the Sorting Ceremony. That look of utter distress and misery.

Walking hand in hand with Ginny, the two of us made our way out of the Ministry building. Normally we would have just floo'd on home, but this time we didn't. There was the occasional night where we would walk for a little while outside in the Muggle world before apparating home to the Hollow. This happened to be one of those nights, and I found myself not minding in the slightest. The walk would allow me some time to myself to think about everything that had been happening as of late.

Outside the air was nippy. It was still in early September and, naturally, was warm during the day. But once the sun disappeared behind the western horizon, the air would grow a little chill. London was often like that, unfortunately. At least at Hogwarts, which was more in Scotland as I later learned, it was warm and inviting there until mid November. Even still, the chill wasn't bothersome. In fact it was quiet nice.

Giving Ginny's hand a gentle squeeze, she and I walked down the side of the empty road. There were practically no cars about and no Muggles roaming. It was late at night and we could hardly expect anything other than such. Our footsteps were light and nearly silent on the pavement of the sidewalk as we ventured farther down the street.

"I was thinking of making lasagna for dinner. Would you like that? Lily is over at Ron and Hermione's house spending time with her aunt and uncle for the night. Apparently their youngest wanted a sleepover and practically demanded that she see Lily," Ginny explained to me. I smiled and nodded once, swinging my briefcase a little at my side.

"That sounds good to me. We can open up that bottle of wine that Ron gave you for your birthday this year?" Ginny smiled back at me.

"Yeah. I can make desert to? Or do we want to skip that?" She offered and I chuckled softly, pulling her close as we came to a stop just outside of a small park that was about a quarter of a mile away from the Ministry.

"We can do whatever," I told her, kissing her gently. She moaned quietly, reaching up to palm my cheek in her hand. A soft wind kicked up, rustling my hair and tickling our noses as we kissed. Smiling against her mouth, I pulled away to kiss her cheek. She laughed a little, dropping her hands to take mine again. We continued our stroll through the park, kicking at leaves and small rocks on the way.

I had figured that when I watched Draco leave the office earlier that would be the last I would see of him until tomorrow. But as Ginny and I passed under a canopy of trees and curved around the path a little, I saw Draco's platinum blond hair under the light of a lamp. His head was resting against his folded hands and he had a trunk like the ones we'd used for school beside him. Ginny and I froze, glancing once at each other before we made our way to him.

Draco lifted his head and glanced over at us, distress written clear as day on his face. When his eyes met mine they softened and seemed to shine a little before he realized that I wasn't alone. A wall went up over his blue irises and I had to fight the frown that started to tug at my mouth.

"Potter?" Draco said, taking another glance towards to Ginny. I wanted to frown, truly, when he used my last name but then I remembered our situation. He'd never said my first name to anyone but me, and it would be suspicious if he started now. Especially in front of my wife. "What are you two doing out this late?" If I wasn't mistaken, there was a light snarl to his tone. I sighed.

"We both worked late. But I could ask the same question to you, Malfoy," I snarled right back to him. What used to be just another part of our childhood rivalry was now a façade that we had to put up in the presence of Ginny, and I could see in his eyes that he hated it just as much as I did.

"That's not your concern," Draco said, looking away from me for a moment. I bit down on my bottom lip, taking a glance at Ginny before looking back to him. I had just begun to open my mouth when my wife spoke up instead.

"Well, you've got a trunk and you look miserable. We have an extra room and plans for dinner, so why not come home with us?" She offered. I turned, open-mouthed and gaping at my wife. From the corner of my eye I could see Draco doing the same from his position the bench he was sitting on.

"Pardon?" Draco muttered.

"Say that again, love?" I said just as he'd spoken. Ginny smiled warmly at the both of us before elaborating.

"Draco, it doesn't take a man like Albus Dumbledore to figure out why you have a trunk and you're out here in the middle of the night. Harry and I have plenty of room at the Hollow and you're more than welcome to stay as long as you need to, alright?" Draco's shocked expression masked itself into a frown. But even in the dark of the night and at this distance I could tell that it was faked.

"Why would you assume that I've—" Ginny sighed and pulled out her wand, waving it and suddenly Draco's words were cut off. She'd put some kind of silencing charm on him.

"Draco, surely you've known from your marriage with Astoria that women always win," she smiled warmly at him and waved her wand again. "You're staying with us until further notice, alright? No exceptions. No arguments. No if, and's or but's, understood?" Draco clenched his jaw and nodded once, and I found myself having to hide the smirk behind my hand as I forced a small cough.

"Now, then," she said. "Shall we be on our way?"

Draco grumbled softly and stood from his position on the bench, taking the strap of his trunk in hand and dragged it over to us. Ginny was still smiling and the closer Draco came the more my heart sped up in my chest. It was racing so hard it was a wonder that neither of them could hear it.

"Go on and take Harry's arm, Draco," Ginny told him. Draco forced a look of displeasure but he quickly grabbed my arm just above the elbow. His grip was gentle and soft and I glanced over at him, tilting the corner of my mouth up into a smile as I looked back to Ginny, taking her arm. In a flash and a loud crack, the three of us apparated to the Hollow in the blink of an eye. Draco swayed a little and I shifted my arm, grabbing his wrist to keep him from falling over.

He mumbled a soft "thanks" and I let go, following Ginny up into the house. Draco's strunk glided across the pavement behind us, the only sound that confirmed he was following.


	7. Party for Two, Or Five

**Chapter Seven: I'm Inviting You to a Party for Two, Or Five…  
>Draco's POV<strong>

Ginny disappeared down the hall to, I assume, make dinner for the three of us. I couldn't believe that I was standing in Harry's living room, again, but this time I was forced here by a woman instead of my own free will. I sighed deeply. This is exactly why women were unappealing. With a man, you just did your business, but with a women? With a woman you did nothing but listen to her demands or whatever else it was that she wanted.

"Harry…" I muttered once she was gone. Harry had moved to take my trunk, probably to tug it to their guest room or whatever. "I don't think this is such a good idea. Really, I can stay in a hotel until I can figure something else out. You don't have to put me up like this…"

Harry sighed and he glanced around cautiously before he leaned up on his toes to press an open mouthed kiss to my lips, pulling a soft, quiet moan from deep within my throat. "I know the idea of staying with Ginny and I is… less than appealing, but staying with _me_ should be a little more enticing, don't you think?" he muttered into my skin and I could feel the smirk tugging at his lips. Harry Potter, you asshole.

"Yes, well, having your wife in the house isn't, really, going to do anything for me, for _us_," I mumbled back. Harry frowned a little and pulled away, taking hold of my trunk and dragging it through the house, to their guest bedroom I would imagine. I followed him, taking note on how to get to the room that would, for now, be mine. Draco Malfoy living with Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley? What the Hell was the world coming to?

Harry shoved open the door with his shoulder and set my trunk down at the end of the queen sized bed. I wondered just how often they actually had guests that stayed overnight. Their best friends lived, like, two miles away and worked in the Ministry. If I were the Potters, I would never allow Ronald and Hermione to stay with me. I would have been tired of them by now, but that was just me…

"You can unpack, you're probably going to be here for a while," Harry muttered, turning to face me. He seemed to be caught against two different emotions, like he was excited and happy that I was there and, at the same time, feeling probably a little guilty for cheating on his wife. "Ginny's probably not going to let you leave any time soon." He moved closer to me, putting a hand flat on my chest. "And I know it's wrong to cheat on her, and when you aren't around, I feel awful about it but now that you're here…" He kissed me again, this time a little harder and a fraction of a second longer. "I want you…" We both blushed madly at that. "And… As for Ginny, we'll just need to be careful. You are the best-kept and organized person I know. I'm positive that this won't be an issue for you."

We kissed again, for a short minute before Harry pulled back. "I'll leave you to unpack… Dinner should be ready in a few minutes," he said and turned to leave me to my task but I reached out and quickly grabbed his wrist, pulling him back to me. His eyes widened some as he looked up at me, before a smirk spread across his lips. "I didn't know you were so strong, Malfoy," he teased and I rolled my eyes.

"Harry, are you sure about this?" I whispered. "About us? I don't want to ruin your marriage with the off chance that Ginny does find out about it. I don't want to rip your family apart. Trust me, I know what it feels like…" I could swear I felt the burning of tears begin to build in my eyes but why was I crying? I didn't love Astoria so why was I upset about leaving her? "It happened once when we were in school, during the war and it just happened again tonight. I don't want to put you through that…"

Oh my God, I, Draco Malfoy, did have feelings and a heart. Who knew?

"Draco, whatever happens will happen, all right? We can't live in the future, we just have to leave the chips where they lie and all I know is that after today… There is absolutely no way I can just ignore my feelings for you. There is no way in Hell," he said to me, kissing me softly, lovingly even. I hadn't felt something like that… well ever, really.

"You… You're sure?" I mumbled and he smiled at me, bright and uplifting as he reached up, cupping my face in his hands and pushing two tears off my face.

"Positive," he whispered, still smiling at me. "And I don't think that I've ever seen you cry before…" He wasn't teasing or mocking. He seemed genuinely concerned for me and maybe even a little awe struck. I guess I couldn't truly blame him. I'd never showed any emotions in school, when we knew each other.

"Don't plan to see it very often, Potter," I mumbled, pulling my wand from my jacket and flicking it at the trunk. It quickly began to unpack itself and, within a matter of moments, the room had been transformed from a guest room to my personal bedroom. Harry just smiled and it looked like he wanted to lean up and kiss me again, but there was a knock at the door and we pulled apart.

"Boys?" Ginny called from the other side and she pushed the door open. She smiled a little. "Oh good, you haven't killed each other. I was getting worried," she teased and I had to try my hardest not to roll my eyes. "Dinner's ready," she added and Harry smiled bright at her muttering a soft "thank you love". I couldn't really describe just how jealous that made me feel and it was… Startling to say the least.

I followed behind them, remaining silent as the married couple started to mumble and talk amongst themselves. I couldn't really say I knew what they were talking about because I wasn't all that interested at all. Harry sat at the end of the table with Ginny on his left and me on his right and they continued to talk as we began eating. I didn't have to work hard to tune them out and focus on just eating. I was used to tuning most people out but at least the food was good.

"Draco? Er… Hello? Draco, are you still with us?" Ginny said over the table and I blinked once or twice, looking up at her. Being caught in my thoughts was always a dangerous thing…

"Yes… Sorry, did you ask me something?" I grumbled quietly, trying my best to look unhappy with my current position.

"I asked if dinner was all right?" she repeated. I never even heard her ask me that. I really must have been floating away from reality. Bloody Hell.

"Oh… Um, it's great, yeah," I said, putting on just the tiniest and briefest of smiles. "More than my wife ever did…" I added, sighing softly. Harry frowned and Ginny frowned even more so.

They were silent for a minute and Harry looked like he wanted to launch himself from his chair to comfort me or something. He was fighting hard to stay put. "That's why you were really out in the park, isn't it?" Ginny whispered. "You left Astoria?"

I bit back a comment stating that why I was in the park truly was none of her business. "I didn't really see much of an option anymore," I told her, my eyes dropping back down to my half eaten food. Harry's was gone already and I wondered if he was just an extremely fast eater, or if I was just really that out of it. "But if you don't mind, it's not something that I really want to talk about right now." I tried to sound nice about it, but I think I still came off a little cold.

Ginny nodded once. "All right, Draco, whenever you're ready then…" she said. "But Harry and I are here, if you ever need to talk. I know we didn't really get along in school, but we can put that behind us now, can't we?"

"Do we have a choice?" I asked. "Seeing as I also don't have a choice in staying here." Ginny smirked at me and I sighed softly, stabbing at a noodle on my plate but not really having any intention of eating it. My stomach was already feeling overly stuffed even though I only ate half of it. I guess I just wasn't up to eating.

"No you don't have a choice, Draco. I don't care if we didn't used to get along. I was not going to see you outside with no place to go," she said and I opened my mouth to state that I was wealthy and I could have just gone to a hotel for the time being but she raised an eyebrow at me. "Do I need to charm you again?" I sighed, snapping my mouth shut and looking down at my food once again.

"Honey, take it easy on the poor guy, all right? Let him adjust to being here before you throw charms at him every which way," Harry said and they both seemed to get a laugh out of that. I wondered if I could drown myself in my glass of water.

"Oh, I forgot to mention this, but the kids are going over to my mother's tomorrow night and Ron and Hermione will be over for dinner and game night," Ginny said, looking from Harry to me, so she was very clearly talking to both of us. Oh fuck no. It was one thing to deal with Harry's wife. She was decent enough other than the fact that I had almost fucked her husband in my office earlier today, but dealing with _Ronald_? Fuck. No.

"Um, I have to work late tomorrow…" I lied. Anything to keep me from having to deal with The Weasel all night. Not to mention, if he found out why I was staying here, he'd never stop making fun of me for it. I could already hear it now. 'Draco Malfoy, tossed out on the street by his way-out-of-his-league wife. How pathetic, but I can't say I didn't see it coming.' Motherfucker, I was not going to put up with that. I didn't sign up for this! "And I have to work late for the rest of my life…" I added. If I stayed at work as long as I could every single day, I wouldn't have to deal with Ronald outside of the Ministry, ever.

"Oh don't be ridiculous. I'm sure Ron and Hermione will be delighted to see you," Ginny said and that time I really did roll my eye.

"Yeah, sure," I muttered, probably looking just a little more miserable than when they found me in the park. "We are talking about _Ronald_, correct? Your brother? When had he ever been pleased to see me? He isn't like you and Harry with your 'we can bury the hatchet and be friends' thing. He'll be upset and probably angry to see me here, not to mention, he'll probably start a completely unnecessary fight, which I wouldn't have any trouble winning, but wouldn't want to put the effort into fighting in the first place. Putting me with that man, in the same room for a long period of time is a _bad_ idea."

"Well, then I guess we're going to prepare for a second war tonight," Harry said, looking over at me. "Because you're coming home with us tomorrow from work and you're going to enjoy a nice 'get to know each other after twenty years' dinner party, got it?" I frowned at him, but didn't feel like actually arguing with him.

"And what if I really do need to work late tomorrow, Potter?" I scowled. He smirked.

"If you really do need to work late, I'm sure it won't be any bother for you to get the Minister to tell me so in person," he said. Bastard.

Sighing, I looked back at my sure to be cold food again. "Fine, but if he—" I started and Ginny cut me off. Ugh, women…

"He won't, I'll make sure of it," she assured me but I didn't really feel too assured.


	8. Sit Back Down Where You Belong

**Chapter Eight: Sit Back Down Where You Belong  
>Harry's POV<strong>

It came down to the last few hours of work and I found myself strolling down the hallways towards a familiar door. The dark stonework and polished marble gleamed in the light and I curled my hand around the silver doorknob. I didn't bother to knock or anything, I merely turned and pushed the door open, stepping into the office behind it. "Draco, it's time to go." I said to the blond who was sitting behind his desk across the room from me.

Draco lifted his head, staring over the expanse at me with a pleading look in his eyes. His platinum blond locks were a little disheveled around his skull, his tie loosened and the top buttons of his shirt undone. He looked a lot like he had yesterday when I came into this very room for our discussion, only a thousand times more exhausted.

"Harry, no.." he murmured gently. "I've got so much work still to do and I really don't feel like putting up with Ron tonight. I deal with him enough here at work, please…" I frowned a little, looking upon him sympathetically as I stepped into his office, shutting the door behind me. I walked over to his desk, resting my hands on the wooden surface and leaning forward some, staring down at him.

"Draco, it's just one night. One dinner and some conversation and that's it. I promise. But, really, it's time to go. Ginny's already left to prepare dinner and do a little bit of cleaning." I explained, reaching up to caress his cheek with my knuckles, letting them trail along the slight, sharp stubble on his jaw. Draco's eyes slid shut and he tilted his head into my hand for a moment before sighing.

"I really can't, though. I have so much work…" He began but I just smiled, leaning close to press a kiss to his lips. Draco moaned almost instantly, kissing me back tenderly, reaching up with a hand to cup my face. I teased his bottom lip with my tongue, sliding it along the curve before slipping in just a little, tasting just passed his teeth before pulling away. Draco whined.

"Come on, baby," I whispered, kissing the corner of his mouth. "It's just one night. You'll survive one night." Draco shook his head, leaning up to try and kiss me again. His mouth grazed my lower lip, but I pulled away enough to leave him whining in protest again.

"I really can't! The Minister has given me so much work to do—" I chuckled softly.

"You're lying to me, Draco. Besides, even if you weren't, why would you be putting off your piles of work to kiss me?" I mused, and Draco pouted heavily at me, groaning softly. I chuckled again, kissing his forehead. "Come on, Draco. Just one night."

"No. I don't want to and you, really, can't make me." Draco protested, giving me a defiant look. I raised an eyebrow at him before standing up straight. So, he wanted to fight me, huh? Well, alright. I'll give him a fight. I pulled out my wand, waving it at his wardrobe. His coat came out and hovered in the air as I flicked my wand again, packing up his briefcase. Draco frowned as I left his things to hover in the air before walking around his desk.

I waved my wand again, forcing his chair to pull back from his desk. Draco stared up at me with wide and curious eyes, but I merely reached forward and grabbed his left ear by the cartilage. I tugged just enough that the soft howl from his lips was more of shock and less of pain, and Draco staggered to his feet, whining at me.

"Harry! Harry—ow! Come on, Harry, let go—ow!" I waved my wand, charming his coat and case to follow us as I literally dragged him out of his office by his left ear and down the silent hallway towards the fireplaces to Floo home.

~.~.~

An hour later, I walked down the hallway from the kitchen through to the living room where I found Draco sitting on the couch with a book opened up on his lap. He was dressed in a pair of black slacks and a black button-up shirt. The sleeves were rolled up to his elbows and the top buttons were undone, barely exposing the sharp collarbones beneath his pale-white skin. I bit down on my bottom lip, crossing into the room almost silently. Draco didn't stir.

It was about five minutes to nine and Ron and Hermione were due at any time. I rolled the sleeves of my deep maroon colored shirt up around my elbows, sighing softly as I glanced at my reflection in the mirror. My hair was still in its messy array as it had always been through my life. My glasses sat perched on the bridge of my nose, the round silver frames gleaming in the soft light of the living room.

"Will you stop fretting? You look fine, Harry," Draco's soft voice sounded from one side of the room. I sighed softly, dropping my hands from my hair to look over at him. His gaze was still buried down at the book in his hands, but he didn't seem to terribly focused in it. I smiled softly, turning and walking over to him.

"I always fret. I don't need Ron to start thinking that Ginny's got me whipped." I told him. Draco glanced up from his book and smirked at me, his lips curling into that devilish tease. I bit down on my bottom lip again, wanting so badly to lean forward and capture those lips for my own.

"He doesn't need to think about it. Everyone knows you're whipped." He told me and I frowned.

"But I'm not." I retorted and Draco just smirked more.

"Not by Ginny, but not everyone needs to know that." I chuckled softly, leaning forward to press a kiss to his warm and open mouth, earning a soft moan from his throat. I reached up to caress his cheek for a moment before I pulled away. Draco groaned quietly and I just smiled.

"Later, Draco. Ron and Hermione will be here any moment," and not a moment later did I straighten and take a step back that Ginny came down the hall from the kitchen. She was dressed in a nice blue summer dress with a white towel in her hands, drying them off. Her hair was pinned back and she smiled at me and Draco.

"Everything alright?" She asked and I nodded once, tucking an arm around her waist before kissing her cheek lightly. From the corner of my eye I saw Draco watching me with a look of something akin to jealous before he tore his gaze away, staring hard down at the book in his hands. I felt my heart lurch in my chest for him, but I pushed the sensation away as I turned my attention back to Ginny, who was smiling brightly beside me.

"It's so nice that the two of you are getting along. If only you could have done it during school a little more," Ginny teased and I laughed a little, kissing her again before looking to Draco. He was trying so hard to pretend like he didn't care or that he simply hadn't noticed, but I could see the set of his jaw and the slight curl of his lip. He was displeased, that much was obvious.

"Yes, well, we were young school boys then. We didn't really know any better," I defended, smiling warmly at her as the doorbell rang. Ginny unglued herself from my side before walking to the door, pulling it open. On the other side were my two best friends since first year, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. They hadn't changed much with the exception of the years on Ron's face and the maturity in Hermione's eyes.

Ron was clad in a pair of brown trousers and a white shirt with a matching brown blazer, while Hermione was wearing a simple black skirt and white blouse. They looked rather ordinary even for their standards, and I could only assume that they must have walked from their home to ours. Despite being magical families, we lived in a Muggle neighborhood, but it didn't really bother any of us.

"Oh, Ginny, it's wonderful to see you again!" Hermione exclaimed, embracing Ginny in a warm and friendly hug. Ron turned his eyes on me and smiled brightly, extending his hand out to me. I took it in my own before pulling him close into a one-armed hug, patting his back gently. I pulled away from Ron before stepping to the side to let him in, giving Hermione a gentle hug as she removed herself from my wife.

"Harry.. How are you?" She asked me with a sincere smile and I grinned back at her, holding her at arm's length.

"Fantastic, thank y—"

"What the blood hell is _he_ doing here?" Ron's voice sounded from behind me and I froze. Hermione stared past my shoulder towards where Ron was pointing and I sighed heavily as her eyes widened. My shoulders slumped a little as I turned to stare between Draco, who was glaring up at Ron with his book still in his lap, and Ron. Ron's eyes were blazing with a kind of confused fury that I had never really seen and I saw him start to reach for his wand. Draco caught the movement too and jumped to his feet, reaching for his own.

Before I could even blink, Ginny had her wand out and was pointing it between the two of them. "Don't. Even. Think. About. It." She hissed. Both men froze and turned their eyes on her before glaring at one another again, their hands dropping to their sides again. "This is going to be a nice and peaceful dinner. There will be no snide comments, no arguments, no duels and _especially _no jinxing or hexing." Ron's jaw clenched and I swear I heard his teeth cracking.

"Now then," Ginny said with a sigh, pocketing her wand in the fold of her dress. "Shall we proceed to the dining room? Dinner's ready." She started walking, snatching up Ron's arm, just above the elbow, before dragging him through the living room and down the hall. Hermione threw a glance in my direction but followed without another word. I sighed heavily, shutting the door before looking at Draco. He looked miserable.

"Fantastic. Not even two minutes and he's already trying to pull his wand on me. It's like he still thinks I'm going to try to kill him. Or steal his wife, which I would never… Hermione's a great person and all but she's not exactly my type…" Draco muttered to himself, running his fingers through his hair.

"Draco, I'm really, really sorry about that—" Draco raised a hand and I stopped, going silent.

"I think I'm going to sit this one out tonight, Harry. I really, really cannot deal with him right now. He's just going to ridicule me and glare at me through the whole thing and it's not going to be as pleasant as you and Ginny want it to be. I'm sorry," Draco said with a soft frown and an apologetic look.

"Draco, please… This dinner would mean a lot to Ginny if you could just sit through it and play nice. She's not asking you to like Ron. She just wants things to be normal," I told him, resting a hand on his arm. Draco looked down at it, shifting before taking my hand in his, lacing our fingers.

"Things won't be normal between me and Ron. My family hated his and he hated mine. There's no hope for any of that to change." I sighed softly, giving Draco's hand a gentle and delicate squeeze before looking back up at him.

"Just give it a shot, Draco? I'll be sitting beside you the whole night. At most you'll be across the table from Ron, okay? Just sit through dinner, desert and some catching up and then he'll leave. I'll tell Ginny that I've got some work to do and I'll give you a nice massage and some kisses, okay?" I offered, and a small smile cracked over Draco's lips. His eyes seemed to light up a little and he leaned forward to kiss my forehead, right over my lightning bolt scar.

"Alright. I'll do this for you and Ginny. But, I swear, one comment from the Weasel and I'm drawing my wand to hex him." I chuckled, standing on my toes to kiss him sweetly.

"I'll allow it, but I can't promise that Ginny will."


	9. Rolling In the Deep

**Chapter Nine: Rolling In the Deep  
>Draco's POV<strong>

I somehow managed to get the displeasure of sitting directly across the table from Ronald, who continued to glare at me. I didn't even give him the satisfaction of glaring back. Why did Harry have to drag me into this? Honestly, I could have just gone into my room and read my book, was that too much to ask for? Could I truly be blamed for not wanting to deal with the Weasel? He was still acting like I was ready to pull out my wand and zap him with an unforgivable curse (which I actually never did use, even when I was a Death Eater) or seduce his wife into my bed, which I would obviously never do considering I was _gay_.

Not that anyone but Harry really needed to know that as of right now.

"So," Ron started, clearing his throat, but I didn't even bother to look up at him. I was picking at my food, shoving bites into my mouth here and there so as not to offend Ginny's cooking, but I wasn't hungry. I would have much rather been sitting in my office at work with nothing to do than be part of this 'friendly gathering' with people who weren't my friends. "Why _are_ you staying here, Malfoy?" Ron almost seethed over the table at me. I sighed, sipping my water and, more or less, ignoring him.

"Ron…" Harry started. Harry was sitting directly next to me with Ginny on his other side. Hermione sat across the table next to Ron and she didn't look any more pleased than Harry and Ron did, but displeased with her husband or me, I wasn't sure. "Please don't."

Ron scuffed. "Please don't what, Harry? I think I have a right to know why our archenemy is staying with my little sister and my best friend! What if he tries to hurt you, or something? And how long has he been here anyway."

"You know, Ronald," I said, finally looking up at him. "It seems rather childish to talk about me like I can't hear you when you are sitting right across from me." His eyes snapped to me and they narrowed. I would have been more afraid if Ron was actually terrifying. "And furthermore, no, it really is _none_ of your business as to the reason why I am here. The only thing you do need to know is that Ginny and Harry have much kinder hearts than you."

Harry rubbed his temple, sighing softly. "Ron, I have to agree with Draco. You really are being—"

"No, Harry, I'm perfectly in line! If anyone is out of line, it is Draco Malfoy for even having the balls to ask you to put him up," he growled, his glare turning to Harry instead of me.

"He didn't ask us to let him stay, Ron!" Ginny snapped. "In fact, _I_ insisted that he stay with us because he needed somewhere to go and staying in a hotel would have just been so… Lonely and miserable. So please stop snapping at our guest, because you are extremely out of line."

"But Ginny, I—" Ron started to explain and I was started to form a migraine, right behind my eyes.

"Ron, _stop_," I growled at him. "Enough. Shouting at your sister isn't going to make anything better for you. Do you really want to know why I'm here? Because my wife and I split up because she's a lying, cheating, gold-digging whore and the only way I could keep custody of my son was to give her my house. So that's what I did. Ginny and Harry were kind enough to give me a room to stay in for a while until I can figure everything out. That's why I'm staying here, so please just _stop_. I'm not here to hurt them or you or steal your wife or any other horrible thing you might think I'm capable of. I'm just trying to keep my life from completely falling apart."

"Oh God, Draco, I'm so sorry…" Hermione said, her eyes filled with sympathy and she sounded genuine in her pity for me. "That's so awful… I never would have suspected Astoria to be like that. She always seemed decent enough…" she added, a soft frown tugging at her lips. Ron looked like he just saw a ghost spider, or something, and a look of regret passed over his face.

"She used to be decent," I said to Hermione. "She changed after she got pregnant."

"Well," Ginny piped in. "That is something that has some serious affects on a woman. Harry could hardly even deal with me after I had Albus."

I looked over at her, a mixture of emotions playing in my eyes, but I wasn't sure which was the most predominant. "I can imagine, but clearly you got better, even had another child afterwards. Astoria… She never got better."

Both girls gave me their "oh I'm so sorry" again and I just nodded my thanks. Ron, on the other hand, looked like he was going to have a heart attack. Hermione elbowed him in the side and he yelped, dropping his eyes to his plate. "I'm sorry, Mal- Draco…" he mumbled. "I didn't think—"

I sighed. "That's because you hardly ever think at all," I muttered, pushing my food around my plate again. Ron looked like he was going to reach over the table and choke me, but Harry's glare kept him in his seat. "And now that you have successfully pried into business where your nose does not belong, please start acting more like a human being."

"Agreed, Ronald," Hermione and Ginny both growled at him. It was actually scary how girls always seemed to know what everyone else was thinking. Girls, in general, were just iffy and uneasy.

The rest of the dinner was mostly spent talking about work and children. I didn't talk unless someone asked me a question. Other that, I didn't really care to be a part of their conversation. If Ron wasn't there it probably would have been a lot different, but he kept glaring at me. Now he was probably just angry for me making him look like an asshole in front of his sister, best friend and wife.

I noticed, throughout dinner, that Ron and Hermione would sometimes glance at my arm, where the Dark Mark used to be. I'm sure they were curious about the massive scorched scar there and how it had happened, but neither of them asked and I wasn't really going to discuss the night I'd nearly destroyed my arm to get rid of the Mark. It wasn't something I liked to think about and I definitely wasn't going to willing bring it up. They would, no doubt, ask me about it eventually…

After dinner, they all decided to play some sort of Muggle board game. Hermione, Ginny and Ron all moved into the living room while Harry and I cleaned up the table and went to wash the dishes.

"Harry, I'm not playing some stupid game with them. I won't do it," I said and he raised a brow, looking over at me. "And do not even, for one minute, think about grabbing my ear again, Potter. I'll kick your scrawny ass, I swear I will."

Harry pouted for a brief moment as I handed him a dish to dry. He took and then leaned over, pressing a gentle kiss to the underside of my jaw, pulling a growl from deep within my throat. I really needed a shave if Harry was going to keep touching me like this. "Must you growl at me?" he muttered into my skin and I smirked.

"Yes, Harry, I must," I told him, handing him another plate. "And I'm not playing some Muggle game with Ronald Weasley. I will not do it, I refuse." Harry pulled back, pouting at me.

"Come on, Draco, please? I already promised you a massage and lots-o-kisses," he muttered, pressing a gentle kiss to my lips. "You've got to work for your prize, you know."

"No, you said dinner, that was all," I said, waving my wand to finish the dishes. I didn't understand why Harry decided to do things the hard way, really. We were wizards for a reason, weren't we? "There was no game in the deal at all. No mention of it, so legally, I don't have to play that game. I already held up my end of the deal."

"What if I sweetened the deal?" he asked as the dishes magically stacked themselves up in the cupboards.

I raised a brow, smirking a little. "I'm listening, Harry," I said, closing the little bit of distance between us. "What exactly do you have in mind? It's got to be something good if you really think I'll put up with Ron for another hour."

Harry leaned up, pressing another kiss to my jaw. "I promise, it will definitely be worth your while, but it will have to wait till Monday, during our lunch break at the Ministry." I pouted at him a little and he just laughed quietly. "I promise, Draco, you will love me for it, but it needs to wait until Monday."

"I already love you, Harry…" I whispered and a soft blush quickly rushed over his face. I smiled, cupping his cheek gently in my hand, running my thumb against his soft skin. He'd recently shaved, unlike me. I needed to, for sure. "But if you don't come through for me on Monday, I'll be extremely disappointed in you and I might just have to kill Ronald."

"It's a deal," he said, taking my arm into his hand and pulling me towards the living room. Well, at least it wasn't my ear this time. We entered the living room and everyone was sitting on the floor around a large coffee table, a board game set up in the center. "So what are we playing?" Harry asked, sitting down beside Ginny. Sighing, I sat next to him at the end of the table with Hermione to my other side.

"The Game of Life," she answered and she turned to me. "Have you ever played this before?" she asked and I gave her a look that more or less said 'you're kidding me right?'

"No. I've never heard of it…" I muttered so, of course, she felt the need to explain the game to me in detail. It sounded… Rather pointless, actually, but I suppose all Muggle creations were pointless to most wizards. I dealt with playing the game anyway. I ended up with four kids and no wife. Wow, there was a shocker. I also went to college and became a doctor. I suppose things could have been worse, but it still just seemed so… like what was the point? To make your imaginary life suck worse than your real one or to make it better?

Ron ended up with no family at all and he was a garbage man, so that made me feel a little better, even if this was just a stupid game. Hermione had a husband and two kids and she was a lawyer. Harry had three kids and a wife but he kept jumping from job to job, like he was working for a temp agency. Ginny ended up the same as Hermione only she was a stay at home mom.

"How the Hell did you all get better lives than me?" Ron grumbled and I couldn't really fight the smirk. It was a natural reflex, honest to Merlin. "Stop smirking at me, Malfoy…" he muttered but I didn't and really couldn't even if I _did_ want to, which I didn't. He rolled his eyes as everyone else laughed at him. "We should get going…" Ron grumbled, pouting enough to put a gay man to shame.

Hermione rolled her eyes but nodded. "It is getting rather late," she said. "We had a lot of fun though… We should all do something over the weekend." I needed to be sure to get sick over the weekend, or something. "Go out on the town or something." Harry and Ginny mumbled how that would be great and we could have a lot of fun. Yeah, definitely needed to come down with the flu and lock myself in my bedroom.

We followed Ron and Hermione to the door and Ron said his goodbyes to his sister and his friend. Hermione did the same but she actually turned to me and smiled. "I'll be the first to admit that I didn't really like you when we were young, but I actually had a really nice time tonight," she said, smiling at me. "And I'm glad that we can have a chance to fix everything from when we were kids." Before I even knew what was happened, her arms looped around me in a tight hug and she put her head on my chest for a moment.

"Oh… Um…" I said, stunned into a too-shocked-to-move state and I slowly put my arms around her awkwardly. Ron was glaring at me and I glared back as if to say 'she hugged me, you idiot'. "Well, I'm glad for it too… And I, uh, had a nice time too, for the most part, anyway."

She pulled back after a moment and smiled at me. "Just ignore Ron, he'll come around eventually. He's just being territorial, and a jerk," she said, chuckling softly and taking Ron's hand. I nodded and we all said our goodbyes before they apparated with a loud crack, leaving my ears ringing a little.

Once they were gone, Ginny turned to Harry and looked up at him with something I imagined was a hopeful look. "Are you going to come to bed, Harry?" she asked and Harry sighed, shaking his head softly.

"No, love, I have some work to get done before bed. I'm sorry, but I'll be up as soon as I can," he said, hugging her and pulling her in to catch her pouting lips in a kiss. I looked away, trying not to let my jealousy get the better of me. Hopefully it wasn't showing on my face.

"Fine," Ginny said when they pulled away and she turned to face me, smiling a little. "Goodnight Draco," she said and I nodded, wishing her a good night as well.

Once Ginny had disappeared up the stairs, Harry reached out to take my hand in his, squeezing it gently as if to say 'I'm sorry' or 'it's all right'. "I believe I owe you a massage and lots of kisses," he muttered, pressing his lips to mine and I groaned, kissing him back hard. For a moment, we stood there, sharing a heated and arousing kiss, our tongues lapping over each other and in and out of one another's mouths.

Harry broke the kiss first, taking a huge gulp of air. "Harry…" I whined and he just smiled, holding my hands tightly.

"Come on, let's go to the office. We'll have more privacy and a big, cushioned couch," he told me, pulling me out of the living room, down the hall and through a wooden door, which he closed and locked behind us, leaving us in a dimly lit office with a large, two piece desk in one corner, an entire wall of book shelves, a few cozy chairs and a matching sofa. "Now lay down on your stomach so I can give you that massage I promised you," he muttered, digging the pads of his fingers into my sides, pulling a soft groan from my lips. "Lay down, baby…" he repeated and I sighed softly, dropping onto the couch with my stomach and chest pressed into the cushion. I was a little too tall for the couch, so I had to bend my knees a little and rest my ankles on the arm rest of the couch.

"You are too tall for your own good…" Harry mumbled, straddling my thighs.

"No, I'm not too tall, you're just almost midget sized," I said, turning my head a little to look up at him and he smirked, bringing his fingers up to my neck, digging his thumbs into the base of my neck, rubbing out knots and kinks. I groaned in comfort and pleasure.

"I'm not a midget," he muttered into my ear. "And my God, Draco, why do you have so many knots? You're so tense…"

"Um, I was married for sixteen years, more than half of that not really being married," I explained. "Oh yeah, and almost everyone still looks at me like I'm still a traitor to the Wizarding world. That doesn't really help either."

Harry pressed a soft kiss to my hair and then another to the back of my neck. "So if your life is so stressful, how are you still so beautiful?" he whispered softly, pressing another gentle kiss to my shoulder. "Shouldn't stress make you age faster instead of slower?"

"I don't really know what you're talking about, Harry. I'm not very beautiful at all," I told him and he just rolled his eyes at me, kissing me again as his fingers dug into my shoulders and then down my back, working out every knot and kink. I really never realized that I was so stressed all the time, but apparently I was.

"Are you sick?" Harry whispered, chuckling. "You are the same boy who thought he was great, right? You don't sound so confident in yourself anymore and you should be…" I frowned a little, turning just a tad to face him.

"No, I don't really have much self confidence anymore. The entirety of the Wizarding world made sure of that," I said a little sadly and Harry's eyes seemed to fill with a little bit of what I thought to be sadness.

"You shouldn't say something like that, Draco… You're wonderful," he whispered softly, bringing his lips down to catch mine in a loving, warm and inviting kiss.


	10. I'm Hanging On A Moment With You

**Chapter Ten: I'm Hanging On A Moment With You… **

**Harry's POV**

"Draco?" I knocked on the door lightly and heard a muffled groan from the other side. Sighing softly, I turned the knob and pushed it open, finding the curtains drawn and the pale Malfoy buried beneath what looked to be six different comforters. "Draco, what are you doing?" I mused and he groaned again.

"I'm sick, what does it look like, you fool?" He snapped softly. Sure enough, he seemed like he was rather ill. His voice was scratchy and he sounded congested. His face was red and I knew that if I touched him he would be warm. But, curious as it was, the day before he'd been perfectly fine. And to suddenly drop with a cold to this degree was a little suspicious.

"No you're not, Draco. Don't even give me that." I told him, walking over to one of the two windows in the room, tugging the curtains open. Late afternoon light spilled in and washed across the floor. Draco howled at the light difference, but I knew he was faking it.

After game night, Ginny had made plans with Ron and Hermione for everyone to go out for drinks over the weekend. As it was, I had to give Draco dozens of long, sweet kisses, an extensive backrub and promises of more things to come just to get him to sit through the dinner and board games; not that I was complaining, really. But when Ginny had mentioned yesterday of the plans to go out tonight, Draco seemed awfully withdrawn from the idea. And now he was, apparently, sick. Sure.

"I could be dying right now and you're still bent on dragging me from my comfortable bed to go out drinking with the Weasel. I don't think so!" Draco whined softly and I rolled my eyes, pulling open the curtains of the second window. He groaned again before I crossed to his bed.

"You're not dying. And you can't seriously be comfortable beneath six different blankets in this heat. I'm not taking no for an answer, and if you don't listen to me, I'll have Ginny come in…" Draco's eyes widened softly and he huffed quietly, rolling over. I sighed and sat down on the edge beside him.

"Draco… It's just a few hours and a few drinks and that's it. You'll still get your extra special gift in the office on Monday," his huffed again, curling further away. I smirked a little, leaning close to murmur in his ear. "If you cooperate, I'll make it even better."

This caught his attention, for Draco turned his head towards me, eyeing me for some kind of answer as to what I had planned. Nothing seemed to betray me and he whined again. "I don't want to go…"

"If you don't, I won't give you anything on Monday." I warned and he whipped around.

"That's not fair! You promised me kisses and a rub for the dinner and then more on Monday for those stupid games. You can't take that back."

"Ahh, but see I can. Because I've proposed an even sweeter deal to replace the original plan for Monday, but that's only if you go and you cooperate. If you don't go, you get nothing." Draco's mouth gaped open some and I smirked, leaning forward to kiss him, slipping my tongue into his open and waiting mouth. He moaned instantly, grabbing my shoulder and pulling me closer as I kissed him harder, my tongue sliding back and forth over his.

I pulled away and Draco growled at me, trying to bring me close again. "Get up and out of bed. Remove whatever charm you've put on yourself to be sick, and get dressed. We're meeting Ron and Hermione at the Three Broomsticks in an hour. Now, hop to it," I teased, kissing him chastely once more before tugging free of his grip. Draco cursed behind me and threw a pillow, missing by a mile as I ducked around the corner.

~.~.~

"Why couldn't I have just stayed home? Honestly, Harry, Ron hates me and I hate him. It's just going to be tense and awkward. By the end of the night we're going to be throwing punches and hexes, I just know it!" Draco complained softly. I was walking with Ginny on my left and Draco on my right down the streets of Hogsmead. The sun was burning into our backs as a soft wind kicked through our jackets.

"Because, Draco," Ginny intervened. "You'll never make any peace with Ron or Hermione if you don't play nice at these little get-together's that we have. Do you want things to be awkward and tense now and better later or never at all?"

"Never would be nice," Draco huffed quiet enough that Ginny couldn't hear it, but loud enough that I could. I eyed him for a moment as we neared the Three Broomsticks, kicking up leaves from the cobblestone path as we walked.

"Just for a few hours and it'll be over." I told him as Ginny walked a little ahead of us. Draco glared at me.

"You'd better keep your end of the deal, Potter, or so help me—" I touched his hand briefly, our fingers barely lacing before I walked ahead and into the doorway. Draco sighed and followed close behind me, shutting the door once we were within.

The Three Broomsticks really hadn't changed much over the years. The floors were still made of wood, the beams above hadn't been altered or replaced. The second floor remained. The tables were clumped together in some spots and scattered throughout in others. The booths were still the same. I caught up with Ginny as Draco trailed at my heels, following her to a large booth in the back corner. I could make out Hermione's wavy brown hair and Ron's disheveled red hair from the distance.

Glancing back at Draco, I muttered low under my breath, "Play nice, alright?" He glanced at me warily for a moment before sighing.

"If I knew what you were planning for Monday, I'd tell you to make it even better…" I smirked softly, walking side by side with him.

"Trust me. If I made it any sweeter, Ginny would think that I'd beaten you at work…" I commented, walking ahead of him. From my peripheral I saw Draco's eyes widened as he stared after me.

"Harry! There you are!" Ron cheered, raising his mug of butterbeer at me. I smiled and took a seat next to Ginny, who was seated beside Hermione. Draco came up to our table a moment later, sitting beside me and across from Ron.

There was an instant chill that seemed to fall over our table and our table alone. From my peripheral I could see that Draco and Ron had locked eyes with one another and had set forth upon an intense glaring match. Sighing softly, I glanced over at Hermione and Ginny and seeing that they both had also noticed the silent war. Hermione turned her attention to Ron and smacked him on the back of the head.

"Will you give it a rest!" She snarled at her husband as Ron rubbed the back of his skull. Draco chuckled a little and I sighed softly, shaking my head. He turned to me and frowned.

"What?" He asked innocently and I eyed him.

"You're really no better that him. So don't give me that innocent 'what', because it's not going to work." Draco rolled his eyes and smiled a little as a young witch with thick black hair and green eyes came around with a tray of butterbeer for myself, Draco and Ginny. We thanked her, taking the mugs into hand and drinking slowly.

"So," Hermione began. "Draco? Have you told your son that you've..moved?" I knew she was trying to be gentle about a tender subject but I wasn't so sure about the sudden approach to an attempted conversation.

"Erm.. N-no, I haven't. He thinks I'm still with Astoria.. unless she's been heartless enough to tell him that I left her.." Draco trailed off a little bit, sadness touching his eyes as he spoke. I felt my heart clench for a moment and I wanted to tell Hermione off for bringing up this kind of subject.

"But what about the holidays? What is he supposed to do when you go to pick him up and you're not living with your wife any longer?" Ginny asked softly, taking a drink of her butterbeer. I swallowed some of my own drink, risking a glance at Draco. His eyes met mine for a moment and he sighed again, running his fingers through his hair.

"I'll tell him that I've found somewhere else to live for the time being. Somewhere he's going to like. He is, after all, best friends with your sons… I'm hopeful that he'll accommodate well enough that the burden of telling him his mother and I aren't together will be less painful to hear." Draco explained, taking a long drink of his butterbeer.

"Goodness… Two Malfoys living with you and Harry," Ron muttered to his sister across the table. "Good luck surviving past that nuclear disaster—"

"Stop it, Ronald!" Hermione snapped. Ron threw a glare in her direction before glancing over at Draco. The blond had his jaw clenched and appeared to be holding back something he really wanted to say.

"Draco…" I said gently, nonchalantly reaching under the table to take his hand. He laced out fingers and squeezed hard.

"What are you looking at Malfoy?" Ron snapped and I glared at my best friend.

"Will you give it a rest, Ron? You're being incredibly difficult." I snarled at him. His eyes swiveled and locked on me, his face as red as his hair.

"Why do you put up with him, Harry? You've hated him for nearly thirty years, and suddenly you have a change of heart? The bloody hell is that all about?" Beside me, Draco slammed his half-empty butterbeer down before launching to his feet.

"This was a mistake," he hissed, turning away from the table and storming off. I glanced over at Ron, glaring furiously at him. Ron was my best friend, sure, but sometimes he was just so thick.

"Now you've done it," I snarled at Ron, standing up from the table after wiping my mouth on my sleeve to clean it of the butterbeer. In the distance I could see Draco hurrying across the pub and ducking out of the door. Sighing heavily, I hurried after him, brushing past people here and there before slipping out into the evening air, walking quickly down the street to catch Draco's arm.

"Draco, wait…" I said and he turned to me.

"What, Harry?" I frowned softly.

"Please… just ignore him. He's just being an inconsiderate bastard right now…" I told him. People who looked vaguely familiar passed us by up and down the street and paid no mind.

"Harry, do you really expect me to sit across the table from him—again—and take more of his idiotic whining about why I'm living with you? You want me to play nice with the person who has truly hated me since we were children all for the sake of getting something special on Monday?" I sighed, dropping my hold from his elbow closer to his wrist without holding his hand.

"Draco, please?"

"Harry, don't beg, it really doesn't suit you in this situation…"

"Do it for me?

"That's not fair, Potter."

"Nothing's fair. Just sit through this and I'll make this next Monday the best Monday you've ever had in your life."

"That's a pretty extreme assumption right there, Harry," I smiled softly at him. "Are you absolutely sure that you can live up to the expectations you've just set for me?"

"I can certainly try." Draco smirked.

"Maybe that's not good enough?"

"I guess you'll just have to find out, won't you?"

"Monday, then." He said and I nodded.

"Monday. But suffer through tonight first. Just tonight. Then Monday."

"Fine. Monday had better be good."

Oh, Draco… Monday will be the best day of your life.


	11. I'll Give Anything Again

**Chapter Eleven: I'll Give Anything Again to Be Your Baby Doll  
>Draco's POV<br>**  
>After the Weasel's comment about my son and I living with Harry and Ginny, I wanted to just get away from him. Hating me was one thing but he had absolutely no reason to speak so ill of my son. I was beginning to hate myself for letting my curiosity of Monday's events get the best of me, because I just could not deal with Ronald. When I tried to be civil, he still wanted to lash out because he was childish and selfish.<p>

After Harry promised me the world, I found myself sitting back at that table, pretending I wasn't there instead of sitting across from Ronald, listening to all the stupid things that came out of his mouth. I still wanted to punch him in the nose for his comment earlier. In fact, I wasn't too pleased with Hermione for bringing up my son and my ex-wife in the first place, but I was doing my best to ignore it.

I kept ordering butterbeer just so I had something to put my mouth in so I could bite back all the comments that were bubbling in the back of my throat. Ron, much like at dinner, kept glaring across the table at me and I was doing everything possible to keep from glaring back. I didn't want to upset Harry and I didn't want to offend Ginny, but honestly? This was getting completely ridiculous and out of hand. If Ronald didn't stop glaring at me like I was some charmer waiting to seduce his wife into my pants, I was going to literally blow a gasket.

After that comment about my son, Harry was lucky I was even still here. If there was anything in this world that I would die for, it was Scorpius. Nothing was more important to me than him and if Ronald said anything else about him, the pub would be cleaning up weasel.

Ginny and Hermione did their best to keep me in conversation, but I wasn't really interested in it. I really just wanted to go back to the Hollow and lay down in my bed. Part of me wished I really was sick, but, unfortunately for me, I never really got sick. My immune system never allowed it to happen and while I was usually thankful for that because it gave me a perfect working record at the ministry, right now I hated it. A lot.

"Draco?" Harry asked and I glanced over at him, eyeing him as if to say 'what? I'm not exactly happy with you right now because you are forcing me to be here and I really _really_ don't want to be, so please don't pull me into your conversations'. Yes, my glances and glares said that much because I was just that expressive with my body language.

Harry pouted at me gently and he nudged me in the side. "Please try to cheer up? And talk more? You can outwit Ron a million times over, so why not prove it if he starts up again?" he asked, batting his eyelashes at me.

Sighing, I set my sixth, maybe seventh, butterbeer down; keeping both of my hands cupped around the frosted, cool glass. "Because, if I say anything, Ronald will make a fuss about whatever it is, no matter how pointless or stupid and I'm trying not to start something like that because I want to be respectful for both you and your wife," I explained. I decided not to mention that I really had no idea what they were even talking about.

Hermione kept glancing at my arm, where the scorch scar was hidden under my sweater. I knew she was curious about it, but I wasn't going to talk about it unless she asked. Actually, I might not have talked about even if she did ask. The night that I decided to mare my flesh with such an intense heat was the first and last time I saw my father in prison and it was not something I liked to dwell on. I never really liked talking about that night and kept it to myself, so if she wanted to know about it, she'd have to get on my very, very good side, which currently not many people were on. Harry and Scorpius were about it.

"Did you just admit that you're stupid?" Ron asked and I shot daggers at him from across the table. Harry glared at him as well and Hermione lifted her hand, as if to hit him again. He shrunk down under our gaze and Hermione's threatening hand lingering in the air and he really was whipped. It was almost pathetic how completely whipped his wife had him. It was like she had him by the balls just a little too tight and refused to let go. My wife tried to do the same to me but it never really worked out for her.

I found it completely hilarious that it worked for Hermione though.

"Honestly, it's getting pretty late, so maybe we should call it a night," Ginny cut in before our unspoken battle could erupt into anything more violent. "Who's turn is it to pay?" she added, as if making her "suggestion" more of a demand, but in a kind way.

Without really thinking, I pulled my wallet out and slipped my platinum card from its holder. I was use to picking up the tab for everything and I had the money, so it would just be nice for me to do it, considering I ordered more than my fair share of drink. I would regret that later, for sure. "I've got it," I said, lying my card down on the table without a second thought.

I should have known that Ronald Weasely would have a problem with it.

"Oi, Malfoy, nobody asked you to pay!" he hissed over the table and practically batted my card back across the table at me. I was honestly baffled. Why would it make a difference if I paid or not? But I suppose I was demasculinizing him by paying and subconsciously proving I had more money than him. "Put that damned thing away, I'm paying!" he practically howled at me, perhaps trying to prove he was the alpha dog and I was a lowly omega pup. Ha, yeah right. Like that day would come.

"Ron! Draco's not trying to do anything but be nice by paying!" Hermione hissed in my defense and for that I was grateful, but I knew Ron wasn't going to let this go. He would never let this go because he wanted everyone sitting at the table to hate me. Even if he managed to succeed with Ginny and Hermione, which was doubtful, Harry would never really be on board with that, considering he basically admitted he'd been in love with me for years.

"No, Hermione, he's trying to make it _look_ like he's being nice, but really, he's just trying to prove he's better than me by pulling out his massive checkbook!" Ron exclaimed. "He wants me to know that he's always going to be better than me because he's got money, just like when we were in school!"

"Oh good God, Weasely," I hissed over the table. You have got to be kidding me, right? Taking out my credit card is not going to chop of your balls or make you any less of a man. You do a fine job of that all by yourself. You don't need my help to accomplish that," I seethed.

"Oh yeah right, Malfoy!" Ron shouted, standing up from the table to tower over me sitting in the booth. "You are probably looking for any opportunity to make me look like less than a man and to make me look foolish!"

I stood up, standing at exactly Ron's height and I frowned deeply, close to a scowl, and crossed my arms over his chest. "No, Ronald, you do the fool thing all by yourself," I said, pushing past him to walk over to the bar. I set my card down and told the waitress to pay for everyone's tab but Ron's. She then gave me a receipt for my purchase and another receipt for Ron's tab. He had almost as many butterbeers as I did and I walked back over to the table, handing him the check. "Just because I didn't want to make you feel like any less of a man, Weasel."

Ron looked down at the check as I reached into the booth and pulled it onto my shoulders, button up the bottom half of the jacket up my stomach. "You've got to be kidding me, right?" he hissed and me and I smiled pleasantly at him.

"No, I'm completely serious. Have you ever known me not to be?" I asked him and Hermione peered over Ron's shoulder to look down at the check.

"Serves you right, Ronald," she said, laughing and I just kept smiling as Harry and Ginny stood up, laughing with Hermione.

_Malfoy: 1, Weasely: -2_

~

Monday honestly wasn't any different than most Mondays. The minister gave me so many files to look over, I almost forgot about Harry's promise to make this day the best Monday I ever had. There was a lingering feel of excitement in the pit of my stomach that wouldn't go away and the longer it sat there, the more I was thinking about Harry and less I was retaining from what I was reading. It was hard to do regular work when you have nothing on your mind but your secret boyfriend…

Why couldn't my life just be normal?

There was a gentle knock on the door from across the room and then it opened without me giving whomever it was permission to enter my office. I raised an eyebrow as the door swung open and Harry stepped in with a grin on his face. He waved his wand to magically lock the door behind him and then he walked over to the desk, setting his wand aside and putting his hands down for support so he could lean over towards me.

"Hello, Draco," he said, sounding rather amused or pleased with himself. Perhaps both.

"Potter," I replied and he reached across the desk, pulling my files away from me and tossing them on the floor. I frowned a little. "You know…. If you keep coming into my office like this, people are going to begin to thing that we're doing some pretty naughty things."

"Would you like me to leave then?" he asked and then smirked. "But I rather think you like pretty naughty things," he added, clearly having a good time with his… seducing, or whatever it was that he was doing. He grabbed ahold of his tie and tugged it free, dropping the silk onto my desk and then he started unbuttoning his dress shirt slowly in front of me.

I really couldn't fight the laugh. "Harry, you aren't very good at seducing your pray, are you?" I asked, amused, but there was something arousing about the look in Harry's eyes. Perhaps he wasn't great at seducing, because Ginny probably did most of that in their relationship, but he was trying and there was something extremely sinful in his eyes that made me just want to… fuck him senseless. I doubted things would actually go that far, but you get my point.

"No, but that low growling sound you're making tells me that it doesn't matter," he said with a smirk and he dropped his shirt to the floor. His hands fell on his belt and I realized that I was growling.

"Get on the desk, Potter, now," I hissed and his hands froze, halfway though pulling his belt open. He hopped up on the desk, letting his legs hang over the side and I stood from my chair, kissing him hard on the lips, shoving my tongue into his mouth. He moaned almost instantly and I just smirked into his lips, dropping my hands to finish his belt off. I wasn't entirely sure what Harry had in mind for today, but I knew what I had in mind and I was going to be sure I fucking got it. After dealing with the Weasel for so long over the weekend, I fucking deserved it.

Harry moaned into my lips and he sucked happily on my tongue, like I was a lollipop. When I managed to get his trousers undone, he lifted his hips off of the desk and let me tug them down. He wasn't wearing boxers. Either we had the same thought about today, or he never wore underwear. I was leaning more towards the first idea but the second would be so much nicer… Easy access all the time.

Harry whined quietly and pulled away from the kiss, staring at me with his wide, green eyes. "What?" I asked, my hands travelling up along his thighs, which were toned and smooth. Well, at least he didn't have a disgusting access of hair everywhere like most men. That was nice…

"It's not fair that I'm completely naked and you're still fully clothed," Harry whined and he pawed at my shirt, quickly pulling my tie open and away from my neck.

"Well, what are you going to do about it, Potter?" I asked and Harry smirked, reaching for his wand. He waved it at me and suddenly my clothes were on a pile on the ground along with his. He stared, open mouthed at me and I looked away, trying to hide my light blush. "What?"

"You're just…" Harry started, biting his lip gently. "You're just so much more beautiful than I ever expected… And I had a lot of expectations for what you looked like without clothes on…" His hands wandered over my chest and stomach, his eyes a little round and I just blushed, glancing away. "I never thought any man could be _this_ beautiful, but you're full of mystery, aren't you?"

"I guess you could say that?" I asked, leaning forward to push Harry down onto his back. I climbed up onto the desk, straddling his hips. "But I think I'm pretty straight forward, other than being gay," I added, leaning down to press my lips to his. He gasped, arching into me and our hips came right up to grind into mine, our already-formed erections rubbing against one another.

I won't lie, I've had dreams of other beautiful men, but I've never actually got naked with another man before. I had my ideas of what sex with a man would feel like, but the sensations of my member rubbing against his with nothing between us was startling amazing. I shook a little, moaning loudly and grinding into him again.

Harry whined, his eyes clouded with lust and blown almost completely black. I'd only ever seen that look on my wife's face, when we were first married, and it looked much better on Harry's face. It was driving me wild and part of me really just wanted to push Harry's thighs apart and fuck him senseless but the other part of me didn't want to go that far. Yet. Harry was great and I felt better than I had in a long time, minus Ronald, but I didn't want to push thing too fast. We were intimate, but I didn't want to push it. Especially since neither of us truly knew what we were doing yet…

Slowly I lowered myself down, hovering over his waist and I bent my head down, kissing the lowest part of his stomach before dragging my lips down. A moan, sounding more like a growl and a whine mixed together erupted from Harry's throat. "Draco, stop…" he whined and I grunted my displeasure, looking up at him.

"What?" I growled, not too pleased with Harry interrupting me but he blushed and looked adorable, so I couldn't, truly, be angry with him.

"Turn around," he whispered and I stared up at him in awe. "Come on, I don't want to be the only one being pleasured. I was the one who promised you, remember?" he said and I moaned, feeling my knees shaking a little. Slowly, I crawled off of Harry and turned myself around, so my face was still hovering over his groin, but my groin was now hovering over Harry's face. "I'm not sure quite how much of you I can take… You're much bigger than I though and I already thought you were big… But I'll do my best."

His hands ran up my thighs, gripping my hips gently and soft lips pressed a kiss to the head of my now-throbbing erection. I gasped, moaning loudly and following suite on his member, kissing it gently a few times and feeling it pulse beneath my lips. I moaned again, clawing lightly at my desk as I pulled the head of his dick into my lips, sucking lightly on it. My tongue flicked out to taste him and the second my tongue flicked over the slit of his head, his lips molded around me, sucking hard.

My vision went a little white and I groaned around Harry, taking a little more of him into my mouth, my tongue sweeping over every inch of him. A blow job was something that Astoria was never really good at, which was amazing in and of itself since she turned out to be such a slut. Usually girls like that were good at giving head but she wasn't. She used her teeth in all the wrong ways but Harry felt so amazing that I was beginning to question if he'd done this before and was just lying about having no experience.

Harry's tongue swirled and ran across places that made me whine and gasp in pleasure. I was amazed that I was even able to concentrate enough on Harry's dick to pleasure him because I was so focused on my own pleasure.

Groaning, I took more of him in, a little over half and I was trying to figure out how I wasn't gagging yet, but Harry moaned around my bulk, loud enough for me to hear it and shake with my own pleasure. He shoved his hips up, forcing his erection down my throat and at first I felt like I was going to gasp, but I calmed down, breathing through my nose enough to keep myself from losing control of myself. It was odd, really, to have Harry completely filling my mouth and part of my throat, but it felt really fucking amazing, even if a little uncomfortable to accommodate.

Harry gasped around me, taking me just about as deep as I was taking him. His tongue expertly roamed over every spot that drove me crazy and I was beginning to feel a tight, sinful ball of pleasure coil at the base of my spine. I shouldn't have been ready to come undone so quickly, but seeing as I hadn't had this type of pleasure since before my son was born (unless providing it for myself). Having something that felt this good was like a shock to my system and I knew I was going to come undone soon. I really couldn't take much more of this.

Harry pulled back to just having the head in his mouth again. He sucked and licked it hard, his tongue viciously sweeping over the slit again and again. I choked a moan out around him, pulling off of him enough to get him out of my throat and one of his hands cups my balls, massaging and palming them enough that it sent me over the edge.

I froze, crying out around his bulk and I came hard. Harry gasped and I was sure some of it got into his mouth but I was sure I'd just made a mess of his face.

"Fucking Hell, Draco…" Harry hissed, his grip loosening from my hips. "Pull off and trade me places."

I let his erection fall from my lips. "What?" I whined, shaking a little.

"Baby, you're shaking, lay down and trade me places," he said kindly but it was definitely a demand. Slowly, I moved off of Harry and he got up, helping me roll over and lay down on the desk. He climbed up, straddling my chest so his erection was right above my face.

"Harry…" I moaned, staring at his still throbbing erection. He smirked down at me and grasped his dick in his hand, pumping slow at first, but he quickly picked up his pace, his eyes slipping shut in pleasure as he thrust into his hand hard and then harder still. I couldn't help but wander what he would feel like pounding into me like that instead of his hand. "Harry, Ha—" I started to get out but he stilled above me and leaned forward, my seed still clinging to his face.

Soon he was pumping his own seed from the head of his erection, effectively painting my face, my mouth half open. He tasted sweet and salty all at once and I moaned, squeezing my eyes shut and licking my lips gently to taste more of his seed. "Fuck, Harry bloody Hell…" I whispered and he smirked at me.

"You painted me, so I figured you deserved some payback, darling," he whispered, scooting back just enough so he could bend over and kiss me hard. I could taste myself on his lips and both of us mixed together was the best thing I'd ever tasted.


	12. Welcome To My Silly Life

**Chapter Twelve: Welcome To My Silly Life  
>Harry's POV<strong>

"Harry?" Ginny called to me. I hummed in response, looking up at her over the tops of my glasses. I was sitting behind my desk in the Hollow, looking over some paperwork that I had brought home with me for the evening. Not that I had any intention of really working on. My mind had been so wrapped up in what Draco and I had done in his office yesterday that it was hard to focus on much of anything, really. Images of our intimacy floated through my mind and I had to force a cough to cover the moan that was bubbling in the back of my throat.

"Darling, Hermione and I are going out for some girl time tonight. Are you going to be alright with Draco here?" She asked me. I smiled softly and nodded once. Yes, I was going to be quite fine with Draco. Alone. "Alright. Well, I should be home around eleven, close to midnight or so. Don't burn the house down while I'm gone." She teased, turning away as I glanced back down at my work.

"Wouldn't dream of it, love. See you soon." I called to her, pretending to write something down on a document as I listened to her heels descend the stairs and the front door shut. I waited a moment longer before pulling out my wand and waving it at the files, writing up all the pages and reorganizing them before setting them aside. Pocketing my wand, I smiled and hurried out of my office, down the stairs and down a hall to Draco's room. He'd been holed up in there since we came home.

Smoothing out my shirt and straightening my glasses, I raised a hand and knocked on Draco's door, waiting for him to call back to me. Turning the knob, I pushed the door open, finding Draco lounging on his bed with a book in his hands. Just like Draco. Always reading something. I smiled softly as he glanced at me from the top of his book, his face flaming a little.

"Hey," I said, crawling across his bed and hovering over him. Draco smirked, closing his book before setting it aside. I palmed the pillow on either side of his face, leaning in close.

"Hey," he said back to me, spreading his thighs and letting me nestle in close over him, his arm looping around my waist. I kissed him gently, teasing him by slipping my tongue slightly into his mouth before retreating. Draco growled softly at me, tightening his arm around me.

"I've been thinking," I told him, kissing his jaw. "About yesterday…" He hummed in response, tilting his head back as I licked his throat. "You looked so beautiful..all painted with my seed."

"Harry…" Draco growled softly beneath a soft gasp. I smirked, nipping his neck gently, grinding into him a little. He gasped again, arching up into me, digging his fingers into my hip.

"Shall we revisit that?" I offered, kissing the corner of his mouth. Draco moaned, chasing after me before catching my lips in a sweet kiss. His fingers tangled themselves into my hair, pulling gently. Moaning softly, I ground my hips into his again, earning a soft and strangled whine from Draco's throat. Smirking softly to myself, I pulled away, trailing my fingers along his jaw. "Needy?"

"Fuck you, Potter," he hissed gently, a smile toying at his lips. I moaned softly, leaning down to kiss him again. Draco wasted no time in taking control, shoving his tongue into my mouth and dominating me. I didn't mind it in the least, though. I shivered against him as he ravaged my mouth, his teeth hook around my lower lip and sucking hard. Groaning, I weaved my fingers through his hair, pulling hard.

Bucking up into me, Draco growled into my lips, kissing me hard. He nipped and sucked on my lips, dragging pleasured moans and whines from deep within my chest. His hands wandered and tickled against my lower back, setting my nerves on fire. Gasping softly, I whimpered as he left a small bite beneath my jaw. My skin felt hot and tight and I wanted to strip of my clothes and dig into the essence of Draco Malfoy.

"Actually, Harry," he moaned after a moment, licking my earlobe. I gasped quietly, arching into him, shaking a little as I toyed with his shirt. "I had something else in mind for tonight."

"O-oh?" I inquired, shivering as he kissed my chin. "And what is that—mm?"

Suddenly Draco pulled away from me, withdrawing his hands and his lips, leaving me feeling cold and empty. I whined, looking at him through crooked glasses and messy hair as he smirked at me. "A date?" He suggested and my eyes widened a little. A date? With Draco? As in, being out in public?

"Are—are you sure, Draco? I mean… Ginny and Hermione just went out for some girl time, w-what if we run into—" Draco smiled tenderly and pressed his fingers to my lips, silencing me almost immediately.

"We won't. I know this lovely little place that hardly anyone goes to anymore. It's a little on the run down side but the food is fantastic and every table is completely private." He explained, and I smiled against his fingers, kissing the tips gently.

"Sounds wonderful. But since when did you get into run down places?" Draco smirked softly, kissing my jaw.

"Since I had to start figuring out the best ways to get you out and about without running into your wife. I've been planning this for a while, actually. I just had to wait for the right opportunity. And after your little… Intrusion of my office yesterday, I figured this would be a good follow up.." I moaned softly as Draco left kisses along my throat, teasing with licks and nips here and there.

"For the record, Draco, you liked my intrusion. In fact, you were _begging_ for more.." I told him and Draco groaned softly, pushing me away.

"Get out of my room before I chain you to my bed." I smirked at him.

"Would that really be so bad?" He rolled his eyes.

"Yes. I've made a reservation to start in half an hour and it's costing me. If you don't get up and get out so I can get ready, I'll make you pay for dinner, desert and wine." I pouted at him before kissing him once more, earning a pleasured moan as I slipped from the bed.

~.~.~

"Oh, Draco," I whispered, staring at the small restaurant that we had apparated to. The walls were a nice, old brick with a clean and neat rooftop. Thick, clean windows were set into the walls with French doors at the entrance. Around the side was a patio that curved around behind the building with a lake nearby. Candles were lit along the railings and, to the Muggle eye they seemed to be in holders on the posts. To us wizards, they were floating.

Draco smiled softly, leading me through the front doors. Soft Italian music was playing within. The floors were polished cherry, the brick walls lined with bottles of wine and rum. More candles were floating here and there, giving a romantic ambiance. A young hostesses with tousled brown hair and green eyes greeted us at the front, taking us through the building and to the patio behind back.

The tables looked vacant, like no one had bothered to make reservations or anything. "It's the enchantment. Once you sit at a table, you become invisible to any other patron and staff member. It also works as a silencing charm. No one can hear your conversations." Draco explained to me under his breath as we sat down. Our hostesses set menus down onto the table before leaving. I frowned a little.

"Then how do they know when someone is at a table? And how do they take orders?" I asked, feeling naïve. Draco smiled softly, pointing to a candle that was hovering above our table. The wick burst and lit with a soft yellow glow. Glancing around, I noticed other tables that had lit candles, and others that didn't.

"They go by the candles. There's a different color for each item on the menu. The scent is the type of wine." I smiled.

"And dessert?"

"There's only one. And it's the best dessert you'll ever have in your life."

Looking over the menus, Draco and I decided to split the large spaghetti and meatballs platter and a bottle of Zinfandel, Muggle brewed in California that had been shipped here to London. The candle above our tabled flickered violently for a moment and a waiter appeared at our table side, gazing intently at the flame. A rosy wash of pink with traces of red glowed with the heavy scent of the wine, and the waiter jotted it down on a pad of paper before leaving.

"I love magic," I said simply, smiling like a fool. Draco chuckled, reaching across the table to take my hand in his. I laced our fingers, staring at him. "And I love you…" I murmured gently. Draco's cheeks flamed slightly and he chuckled.

"I love you, too. Even if you're a complete goof sometimes." I grinned, giving Draco's hand a delicate squeeze.

"You like it. It makes me charming, and you know it." I said and Draco rolled his eyes.

"Charming? I'm not so sure about that, Potter. I'll admit, you have your…methods. But goofiness to equal charming? I don't know…" I smiled softly at him as the waiter came back with large glasses and the bottle of wine. He set them down on the table before turning and hurrying off back into the building.

I watched as Draco reached forward and popped the cork with a small wave of his wand. The rubber went flying off before disappearing into the night. I smiled as he poured us each about half a glass. Taking mine up into hand, I clinked it against Draco's before taking a drink, moaning softly at the taste.

"It's wonderful," I said. Draco smiled and took a drink of his own, his fingers re-lacing themselves with mine on the table. "Thank you for bringing me here, Draco. I didn't even know this place existed and it's so..wonderful here. Very quiet and romantic."

"To be honest… I used to bring Astoria here. But it was never the same. She didn't appreciate any of our dates. She often complained about the food in one way or another. And she often got drunk enough to just forget about it, anyway," Draco said, sighing softly. I frowned a little, squeezing his hand. He just shook his head. "It's fine. But I'm glad you like it."

"I do. I can't imagine anyone not being able to enjoy a place like this. Completely private and well crafted." Draco smiled warmly at me, bringing my hand up to place a gentle kiss on the back of my palm. I chuckled softly, taking another drink of my wine.

"Yes, well… Astoria didn't enjoy a lot of the things that I did." Draco said and I nodded once. That much I had gathered from what Draco had told me of her. It was so strange to think of Astoria as such a horrible person. When I'd met her in school and everything, she was sweet and intelligent. Not to mention, she idolized Draco like no one else before.

"Don't worry about her now," I suggested and Draco nodded once, smiling again. "Enjoy this evening with me."

"I already am." Draco said, his eyes shining.


	13. When Darkness Turns to Light

**Chapter Thirteen: When Darkness Turns to Light**  
><strong>Draco's POV<strong>

After our romantic date last night, we went back to the Hollow to do exactly what Harry had wanted to do before I took him out. Still not full on sex, but just about as close as two people could get without having intercourse. We'd finished and cleaned up literally five minutes before Ginny came home from her girl's night out with Hermione and we had to pretend like we'd spent the whole night doing paper work for the Ministry.

Today was a snore fest compared to the night I shared with Harry and I was struggling just to get through to lunch. I had an early morning meeting with Ronald and his department. Trust me, that wasn't fun, especially after the whole Three Broomsticks incident. He practically glared at me the whole time. I just wished he could have seen his best friend crawling all over me like a lovesick puppy. That would have really given me true satisfaction…

When lunch finally rolled around and Harry walked into my office, without knocking, I might add, I was relieved to see him. It wasn't that I was desperate to kiss him or strip him; I just could concentrate on anything with thoughts of Harry intruding every usable region of my mind.

"Hey babe," Harry said after my office door was closed and locked. He was holding a small box wrapped in shining silver wrapping paper and a green bow with glittering ribbons on top.

"Hey," I said quietly, pushing up from my desk and crossing to him, kissing him deeply for a moment. He gasped against my lips, instantly moaning and melting into my arms. It was truly amazing that he was ever straight because he melted into puddles for me. "How are you today?" I asked, breaking the kiss.

"Well, I was miserable until five seconds ago," Harry mumbled, trying to catch his breath. I smirked a little and took him over to an expensive-looking leather couch. We sat down together and he practically curled up right against me, like I was an overstuff pillow or something. "I got something for you," he said after a few moments of cuddling.

"Well I assumed from the green and silver box," I started, smiling. "But I didn't really want to assume anything, because, you know, what they say about assuming." He laughed quietly and handed me the little box.

"I'm sorry, it's a little on the girly side, but you could pull it off with those cute silver jeans or your green ones," he said. Outside of the work place, I did tend to get just a little crazy with what I wore. I stayed on the well-dressed side of life, but I liked form-fitting jeans and I liked colored and shiny fabrics. I was a little strange, but at least I knew what made me look good.

Harry handed the little box over to me and I was curious what he could have gotten me that was "a little on the girly side but I could pull it off". Harry had actually wrapped the lid and the box separately, so I only had to take the lid off without unwrapping it or anything. Inside the box was a plush, white cushion with a small amulet lying on top of the little pillow. It was emerald green, with a sort of scroll inside the small stone. It had a love spell written on it, but you had to look really close to read it. It was on a nice, gender-neutral silver chain and overall it really was a beautiful necklace.

Slowly, I picked it up out of the box and clasped the chain around my neck, letting the small, oval charm rest against my chest, right over my heart. "It's really beautiful Harry, thank you," I said quietly, letting the charm rest over my white button up shirt. I knew I would have to hide it while working and while around Ginny, but tucking it into a shirt wouldn't be so hard, and the necklace matched so much in my wardrobe, I could wear it all the time.

"You really like it?" Harry asked, staring up at me, as if I'd really tell him that I didn't like his gift. Even if I didn't like it, I would have lied and told him that I liked it. I would have suffered through wearing it for him just to see him smile and make him happy. However, I wasn't actually lying to him because I absolutely loved the necklace. It was a little on the girly side, but I was gay, so what the fuck did I care?

"Of course I do, Harry, it's gorgeous and it's really special," I mumbled and I leaned over to kiss him gently. Normally I would have shoved my tongue down his throat or sucked on his bottom lip, but this was chaste and sweet, loving. I wanted him to know just how much I loved it without trying to convince him that he was so special to me. "Where did you buy this?"

"That's for me to know and you to never find out because they have lots of great things I want to buy for you in the future and I don't want you finding out about it," Harry mumbled, resting his head against my shoulder. I pouted a little and without looking up at me, he smirked. "And don't pout at me Draco Malfoy. It's not gonna make me tell you…"

"But Haaaaarry," I whined quietly and he shook his head at me.

"Not gonna work, darling, so you might as well just give up now. I gave him a very disappointed 'humf' and continued to pout. I wasn't really sure what else to do to attempt to get my way. I knew it wasn't going to work, but maybe my pouting would at least get me some more kisses. For some reason, Harry liked it when I pouted. I didn't understand it, but I wasn't complaining. It was an easy way to get what I wanted out of him. Well… most things, anyway… Apparently not everything.

"Fine," I pouted, nuzzling his hair gently. Harry smiled and leaned up to kiss me. I kissed him back happily and his hand fell over the amulet that was over my heart. We kissed for a while, no speaking and no desperate cries for having sex. We just kissed sweetly for several long minutes. I couldn't have asked for anything more than what I had in Harry. I just couldn't believe that I waited twenty years to let these feelings show.

I was really starting to kick myself in the arse for that.

"I love you, Draco," Harry mumbled against my lips. "I wish we didn't need to hide from the world… But we'll figure it out," he added, resting against me again. Harry was shorter than me, so it was easy for him to fit right up against me.

"It's all right, Harry, we're going to make it work," I told him, almost more of a promise than anything else. "And I love you too, baby, more than I can really ever express." Harry smiled happily and lazily against me. I knew he felt guilty about cheating on his wife with me. Hell, even I felt guilty for living in their house and taking Ginny's husband when she wasn't around but neither of us felt guilty enough to not do it. I wasn't really sure it that was possible… I truly believed, by this point that Harry couldn't live without me and I couldn't live without Harry.

Harry smiled and slowly pealed himself away from me. "Harry… where are you going?" I asked, my arms now completely abandoned and empty. "Come back, we only have forty minutes of lunch left before we have to start our miserable jobs again!" There was a little bit of a whine in my tone, but could I really be blamed? I would have liked just one decent hour of my day with my lover…

"I'm just getting some wine, darling, I know you keep some in your fridge. People seem to think it's not really alcohol, but I know better," he said, with a snarky tone.

"Well… sometimes I just need a… stress reliever. My job isn't always easy. I don't really think I can be blamed for this," I defended while Harry popped the cork on my favorite white wine. It hardly had any alcohol. Someone would have to drink a few bottles to get a severe buzz.

He started to pull away from the fridge and he seemed to freeze, a small uneasy look crossing his face. He grimaced and, with his free hand, rubbed his forehead, right over high lighting bolt scar. My stomach flipped over and I bit my lip. Hidden in a small box, magically concealed under the fridge was a small, red stone that Lord Voldemort had given me before he told me to kill Voldemort. The stone was full of Dark Magic and since I'd received it, I'd been trying to figure out how to destroy it. To be completely honest, I wanted to turn it over to the Ministry for years, but when I actually thought about that idea, I realized if the Ministry found out about the stone, I could be thrown in jail. I was trying to find anyone who could help me, but it was hidden in my office because I was terrified that Scorpius would find it. I couldn't risk the dark magic hurting my family…

I'd even tried to lose it on several occasions but somehow it always found it's way back to me. Harry's scar prickling, or whatever it did when Voldemort was around, scared me more than I really thought was possible.

When Voldemort gave me the stone, he told me to keep watch over it and that just in case something horrible happened to him, to make sure it was kept safe. I wasn't sure why he entrusted me with the stone, probably because I was scared shitless of him and wouldn't turn him down for anything, but then again that was every single Death Eater. Now that I think about it, it was probably because I was so young. That stone would follow me throughout my entire life and because I was so young, it would guarantee the stone's survival for at least one lifetime.

Oi, I didn't like the sound of that at all…

"Harry? Are you all right?" I asked as he straightened himself up, setting the wine on my desk. "What's the matter?"

"Um… nothing, I just got kind of light headed, that's all. Must not have eaten enough today, or something," he said and he poured us two glasses of wine. I knew he was lying, because I knew that stone was affecting him, but I really couldn't tell him that. What would happen if he found out about it? Would he think I was still a Death Eater? That I was still a supporter of Voldemort? I hoped that if I ever needed to reveal it to him, he would understand, but that wasn't guaranteed…

Bloody Hell, I really needed to figure out how to destroy that damned stone, but its Dark Magic seemed to be stronger than every spell I threw at it… Fuck. I was really in some deep water.

"Well, do you want to go get some food? I mean… we do live together, it won't be that strange if we're seen eating lunch together," I suggested, pretending to believe Harry's lightheaded story. I didn't like lying to him, not after everything we've shared together, but I didn't really want to tell him the truth yet. I wasn't really willing to ruin everything so soon. Maybe it we got closer he'd be more willing to understand me… Maybe he already would understand, but I wasn't sure I could really believe that yet. Maybe I was just too insecure. Astoria kind of made me that way…

"No, no, baby, I just want to enjoy our alone time," he said quietly and he walked back over to me with two glasses full of wine. "We have to take advantage of moments like this." He handed me one of the glasses and sat down next to me, snuggling up to me. He raised his glass, smiling and seeming to forget about his scar hurting already. "To us, darling," he mused and I clinked my glass with his.

"To us," I repeated, sipping the wine. It was so delicious, but now that I knew that stone was going to affect Harry, I was a little too worried to truly enjoy the wine. All I really knew was the fact that I needed to get rid of the stone. First I needed to move it so no one would go snooping.

Harry and I drank our wine and when we finished that, we ended up kissing for the rest of our lunch hour. I packed an egg salad sandwich, but Harry was much better than a sandwich, so I really had no complaints. When our hour was up, Harry reluctantly pealed himself away. "I guess I need to get back to work…" he said quietly and I pouted again. He kissed my pouting lips, pulling away just as quickly as he'd come in.

"All right…" I said, continuing to pout. I slowly stood up, fixing my tie and smoothing out my hair before I went to my fridge, pulling out my lunch. "I don't want you to pass out from not eating, so take my egg salad, okay?" I said and handed it to him, not really giving him much of a choice. "I'm not hungry but I don't want you to get too lightheaded."

Harry smiled and took the lunch. "Well, thank you darling, that's very sweet of you," he said and pecked me once more on the lips. "See you after work? We'll go home together. Ginny has to work late tonight."

"Er… as tempting as that sounds," I started, sizing him up for the emphasis on how much I would truly love to have a few hours alone with him at home. "I can't. I have a few errands to run after work… But I'll make it up to you, alright?" I said quietly and Harry pouted at me. I wanted to give in and tell him I'd go home with him, but I really needed to find a new place to hide that stone. Perhaps Malfoy Manner would be a good place. No one ever went there anymore, not since the war ended.

"Fine… you better make it up to me…" he said, still pouting.

"I will, Harry," I mumbled, kissing him gently. "I promise I will."


	14. Rumor Has It…

**Chapter Fourteen: Rumor Has It…**

**Ginny's POV**

Pushing open the doors that led into the Three Broomsticks, I pulled my scarf from around my neck. Folding it up with my gloved hands, I slipped it into the pocket of my cloak before making my way through the surplus of tables, booths, and stumbling-drunk wizards. I was due to meet Hermione here at six, and I was already twenty minutes late.

Peeling my cloak away from my shoulders, I folded it over my arm before crossing through the main floor of the Three Broomsticks, heading to the back corner of the pub. Sitting at a secluded and small table was Hermione, her long golden-brown hair was pulled back into a messy bun and her sweater clung to her slim frame. I smiled softly, taking my seat across the table from her.

"I was beginning to think that you had forgotten about our weekly get together," she said with a tender smile, gently pushing a mug of butterbeer across the surface towards me. I laughed quietly before taking it into hand.

"I hadn't. It just took a little longer than I thought at the office, that's all," I told her. Hermione nodded once, smiling warmly at me as she drank her butterbeer. I followed in suit.

"I understand that. Business these days, you know? Ronald sometimes doesn't come home until the late hours of the night." I nodded once in agreement.

"It's the same way with Harry. And even when he's not at the office, he's shut up in his study until almost dawn some days," I told her with a small sight, drinking my butterbeer as a cold chill gripped at my heart.

"Quite the busy body, isn't he?" Hermione teased gently, drinking her butterbeer. I smiled, even if it was a bit forced. Hermione frowned softly, from behind her glass, setting it down and licking her lips. "What's the matter, Ginny?"

"Harry is a busy body, yes, but even more so now that Draco's been living with us. And, I just… I don't know…" I mumbled quietly. Hermione frowned a little further, tilting her head to the side some.

"What do you mean?" I sighed quietly, holding my mug in both of my hands.

"Have you… Have you noticed anything..odd..about Draco?" I muttered gently, looking over at her. Hermione's eyes shifted back and forth between mine, and she sighed heavily, looking away again.

"Aside from him not being his usual snarky self?" I nodded.

"Yes… Like… doesn't he seem rather…"

"Withdrawn? Like there's more to his split with Astoria than he's telling us?" I nodded again, taking a small sip of my butterbeer.

"Exactly."

"I feel like that, too… But what? Do you have any ideas? I mean, he lives with you, after all…"

"Well, that's just it," I began softly, looking up at her. "I see him on occasion at work, right? And I don't have these weird feelings then or if it's the two of us at the Hollow, because sometimes Harry works late. But, whenever it's the three of us, or if I come home after them… Whenever they've been alone…" I trailed off.

"Harry and Draco?" Hermione inquired.

"Haven't you noticed it, Hermione?"

"You don't think Draco's…"

"I have wondered. A lot, actually." I admitted to her, and Hermione bit her lip in silent thought.

"If Draco really is… well, that would certainly explain the sudden breakup between him and Astoria, but… you don't really think he's got a.. a thing for Harry, do you?" Hermione pressed, and I sighed softly. I didn't want to think. I didn't even want to hear of the possibility.

"It would explain it, yes. And, well… it's Harry I'm worried about," I said, and Hermione's eyes widened like saucers. I took a nervous drink of my butterbeer. I didn't want to consider the possibility that my husband, the love of my life and the father of my beautiful children, could possibly be… but there were so many instances where just didn't add up… and, yet, just as many that did.

"Harry? Ginny… Harry's not—he… Harry loves you, Ginny." Hermione said after a moment's pause.

"I know. I know he does, but… Some of the looks he gives to Draco—"

"Ginny, Harry's never shown interest in men before, especially men like Draco… You remember their history, don't you?" She urged, and I nodded again. I remembered it better than anyone else, perhaps. I had watched the way Draco treated Harry when we were in school and I suffered from Draco's insults for being a Weasley. I knew it all..

"I know. I'm just.. so confused.."

Hermione paused, seeming to be lost in thought. Another soft sigh passed my lips as I ran my fingers through my hair. Nothing made sense anymore; Harry and I had been married for years and there was never an issue before like this. It would have made sense if he was attracted to a female co-worker from the office, but he didn't work with women. He worked with Ronald and Draco and a few others. We'd been in love for years… but the looks he gave to Draco, such submissive and..passionate gazes…

"Maybe you should confront Draco?" Hermione suggested, and I blinked, withdrawing myself from the heaviness of my thoughts. She had a point, but I wasn't so sure.

"Even if I did, he wouldn't tell me anything. You should know that." I told her quickly. Hermione shrugged a shoulder.

"He might?" I bit down on my bottom lip and shrugged in response. I wasn't sure. Draco was never the kind of person to open up to someone like me. In fact, it was truly a wonder that Draco even spoke to me at all when we were at the Hollow together. Our families hated each other more than the Malfoys hated Harry.

"Ginny, maybe it's nothing? In fact, I'm sure that it's nothing. It's probably just some sort of innocent and playful flirting that's going on between them…" I shook my head quickly.

"But why? You said it yourself, Hermione. You said Harry's not like that, so why even bother with something such as 'playful flirting'?" I snapped. Hermione shied away from me some.

"To… Merlin, I don't know? To rid themselves of some sort of pent up tension from previous years? Perhaps?"

"I don't know…" I sighed, rubbing my forehead.

"Do you, honestly, believe that Harry likes Draco in that fashion, Ginny?" I didn't want to, but something wasn't right about the whole situation.

"Sometimes I'm convinced. I'll walk into a room and there'll be this awkward silence between them. Or I'll turn my back for a moment and then look back and one will be smirking at the other. It's fleeting and quick, but it's there and it's so strange… And I have this feeling that they're trying to hide it and keep it a secret, if they are. And I don't want that. If there's something going on, I want them to tell me, because then we can figure something out together and I don't have to worry about Harry betraying my trust…" I trailed off after a moment.

I sounded more paranoid than sure of myself, really. I groaned quietly as my words resounded through my head, and I set my butterbeer aside. Everything was so strange and complicated, and there was a knot clenching tighter and tighter in my gut. What if Harry and Draco were…? What if they weren't? Was I justified in having these horrendous thoughts, or was there really nothing and I was just being a paranoid and overprotective wife?

"If you're so worried, why not just as Draco to leave, Ginny? Then you won't have to continue to worry about the well-being of your husband and the sanctity of your marriage?" Hermione suggested calmly to me. I shook my head.

"I can't do that. I want to… Believe me, I do, but Draco has nowhere to go, and I couldn't do that to him," I retorted gently. Hermione frowned.

"It's not like he's suffering any kind of financial hardship, Ginny. Draco could easily find a new place of his own. It's not like if you were to kick him out when he was dirt poor."

"But I have no solid proof, Hermione. I have nothing that would justify in kicking him out. And what happens when I try, and there's really nothing going on? Harry… Merlin, Harry would be so upset for suspecting such a thing of him and Draco. I would never be able to live it down… Hermione, I want to, but I can't. Don't you understand? If I try and there's nothing, they'll just think that I'm some paranoid schizophrenic…"

Hermione shook her head quickly. "You're not paranoid, Gin. You're just worried for your marriage and everything that you and Harry have built together." I chuckled softly.

"I wish I could say that I believe you." Hermione frowned sympathetically.

"Why don't you just ask Draco if he has feelings for Harry? If you show him that you won't judge him, that you're there to support him and understand him, he might open up to you?" I bit down on my bottom lip, looking away from her for a second.

"Doesn't that seem like it's a bit forward? I can't imagine that would be a good way to start a conversation, 'Oh, hello, nice to see you, Draco. I was just wondering, you know, since you recently split with your wife, do you fancy my husband?' Sure…" I rolled my eyes softly, taking a large drink of butterbeer.

"Ask about his split with Astoria? Maybe if he tells you in more detail as to why, that will answer some of your questions? It doesn't hurt to try, you know?" I nodded slowly. Hermione had a point. It didn't hurt to try. And if I was so concerned about whether or not Harry was cheating on me with Draco, then I would have to start investigating the matter immediately. And that meant being rather persistent and, yet, reserved all the same.

A soft breath passed my lips and I rubbed at my eyes. I'd only been here for maybe an hour at this point and now I was utterly exhausted. The day's work had been stressing enough, but this whole analysis of my husband's faith to me and Draco's curious behavior had just added to that.

"Maybe… Will you be there with me?" I asked softly, pleading almost with her. Hermione just smiled.

"Of course, Gin."

"Thank you."


	15. You Know What They Say

**Chapter Fifteen: You Know What They Say, Ignorance Is Bliss…  
>Draco's POV<br>**  
>Tonight was one of the rare nights that I was at the Hallow alone. Ginny was having her weekly night out with Hermione, the kids were all at school and Harry was working late at the Ministry. It was one of the few times that he had to work late instead of me. So I took the silence of the house and used it to my advantage. I was half way through a book that was almost two thousand pages long and I never seemed to have time to read it, so I made myself a cup of freshly brewed coffee with cream and sugar and I sat down on the couch in the living room, pulling my legs underneath myself, a blanket over my lap, my book propped open in front of me and my coffee mug on the side table.<p>

I had gotten through about thirty pages with no interruptions. At fifty pages (I was an extremely fast reader) I ran out of coffee and got up to make myself another cup. At seventy-five pages, the front door opened and I expected Harry to walk in. When Ginny and Hermione went out, they usually didn't get back until very late. I assumed that Harry had just gotten out of the office finally, which was really a bitter sweet thing because I was at a great part of my book but I also didn't want to lose any time that Harry and I spent together.

When I looked up and saw the straight, bright red hair of Ginny, I was shocked. Hermione came in behind her and hung up her coat, leading me to believe that she was staying. Well there went the silence I so desperately wanted to continue reading, but I tried not to look disappointed at the loss of silence or the fact that it was Ginny who walked through the door and not Harry. I think I did a pretty good job.

"Hey girls," I said, leaving my book open on my lap. I hoped that was enough to hint that I wanted to be left alone for a while so I could just enjoy my alone time. "What are you doing home so early? Isn't it girls' night out?" I asked, picking up my coffee mug and sipping it slowly. Even though I made it a while ago, it was still hot thanks to magic and I groaned as it burnt the back of my throat.

"It was but we… We wanted to talk to you," Ginny said, hanging up her coat as well. They both walked into the room and took the two chairs across the coffee table that faced the couch. "Draco, can you just be… completely open and honest with me for this? Please?"

Well, that didn't sound too reassuring.

"Um… the last time someone asked me that, I ended up with a kid nine months later…" I said, eying them both. Ginny was blushing a little. "But I suppose… What is this all about?" I asked. It couldn't have been very good, considering they decided to cut girls' night out short so they could come talk to me before Harry got home. Fuck, my stomach hurt…

"Well…" Ginny said, fumbling with the end of her scarf. She didn't take it off even though she took off her coat, so she either was too distracted to pay attention to the accessory or she purposefully left it there so she had something to occupy her hands. "I don't really know how to ask this…"

"You… aren't going to ask me for a baby too, are you?" I asked and he face flamed a deep crimson color.

"No! No, it's not like that- um… not that I wouldn't, I mean— Oh Merlin," she muttered, putting her face into her hands.

Hermione rolled her eyes and cross one leg over the other in a very lady like posture. She looked me square in the eye, searching for a moment before she very boldly came out with the root of what this was all about. "Draco, are you gay?" she asked me and I blinked, forcing myself to look shocked but not giving away the obvious truth of 'yes, of course I'm gay. Men aren't this pretty if they aren't gay.'

"What…?" I asked, trying to look more confused and shocked than anything else. I think I did a pretty decent job at masking the truth. In fact, I was sure I managed it well, considering I had been a fantastic liar when I was younger. "Why would you think that I'm… gay?"

"We have our suspicions," Hermione said calmly.

Ginny was still blushing heavily, but she was actually looking at me again. "It's just… your break up with Astoria was so sudden and what exactly happened isn't clear…" Ginny said delicately. "It just seemed like, I don't know, like there's a lot more about the breakup than you are willing to admit."

"Sudden? Ginny, the break up wasn't sudden. It was eleven years in the making and I told you that. We weren't in love anymore. We'd been falling out of love for eleven years. She wasn't happy and I wasn't happy and nothing we did would make it better. I've _told_ you that," I told her. "There's nothing else to tell. That's why we broke up."

"Draco… Please just be honest. We aren't here to judge, we just want answers. Are you gay?" Hermione asked before Ginny could reply and I turned to look at her with both of my eyebrows raised. This was quickly turning into a very uncomfortable position for me.

"And you actually have the courage to ask me something like this? Straight to my face?" I asked. Honestly, I was shocked the Hermione would just throw something like that at me, even if she had suspicions I was gay. Let's face it, a lot of people probably thought the same thing, secretly. I was decent looking, well groomed and well dress. Straight men, like Ronald, didn't care about their appearance nearly as much but that didn't necessarily mean I was gay. Maybe it just meant that I like to keep a certain air of class around me. That was just as true as me being gay, actually.

"That's not really the question… The question is, are you courageous enough to answer the question honestly?" Hermione asked and my face fell a little. I paled slightly but it probably wasn't noticeable since I was already so pale by nature.

My eyes ended up transfixing themselves on the book I had been reading before the girls had come back. "I think that more than enough people are willing to say that I'm not the most courageous person," I said and that was true. When my father told me to come in the middle of the battle for Hogwarts, I didn't deny him. I didn't stay and fight, I ran away, like a coward. My reasons didn't matter I was a bloody coward.

"That's not true, Draco…" Hermione said to me quietly. I knew she was just trying to make me feel better about myself so I would open up and tell them the truth but I didn't want to talk to them about this, I really just… didn't.

Sighing softly, I curled my hands around my coffee mug. Suddenly I felt a little cold and the only thing that gave me any sort of warmth was the mug. "I suppose… you might say that I do not walk… the straightest path," I admitted without looking at either of them. I could see Hermione nod a little, like she wasn't surprised that she was right for the ten billionth time in her life. "Why? Why would you ask me something like this, anyway?" I asked, my hands shaking just slightly.

Ginny sighed deeply, her hands folding neatly into her lap but she didn't look at me. "Do you have feelings for Harry?" she asked. Fuck. I knew this was where this conversation was going, but it was nice to be in denial for a little while. Now I really had to talk my way out of it.

"Me? Loving Harry Potter?" I asked, trying to make it seem like the idea was completely outrageous. It kind of was, actually, but, at the same time, it wasn't… Since I had been in love with Harry since school. "That's completely ridiculous. Why would I love Harry?" I asked, looking up at the both of them to, hopefully, convince them that it was true. "Harry and I are… coworkers. We're just starting to become decent friends but me loving him? That's just… no I don't love him. He's married to you, you both have three wonderful children together and Harry and I were rivals for years. He's not really my type." What a total lie, but I really hoped I made it convincing. Harry and I were not ready to come clean about all of this.

"Isn't there some sort of saying that goes something like… 'opposites attract'?" Ginny asked me, a sort of pleading, terrified look in her eyes and I sighed deeply. Damn it, she was making me feel truly guilty about this.

"Listen, just because I'm… gay… doesn't mean that I'm attracted to every single guy I'm with. Asking me if I'm in love with Harry is like asking me if I'm in love with Ronald. It's ridiculous. Harry and I are friends. That's all. He's been very… comforting since my breakup with my wife and it's becoming easy to talk to him, but it's not like I want to climb into bed with him," I assured her. "Trust me, Harry is not my type, at all." I probably shouldn't have been thinking about the few times Harry and I had been in the same bed…

"And you have absolutely no romantic feelings for him?" Ginny asked me. She seemed to be a little more relaxed, but it was like she wasn't completely sure she could believe me. I supposed I didn't really blame her.

"None whatsoever," I said firmly but it actually made my heart ache a little to tell her that. "All I know about Harry's feelings for people is that he loves you, so much. I'm not in love with Harry and even if I was, I wouldn't try anything with him. I'm not the kind of person to mess up a marriage." In truth, I wasn't really lying. I felt guilty for running around behind Ginny's back with Harry. I didn't like that I was forcing Harry to choose between us. When we first confessed our feelings for each other, I tried to deny Harry's confession. I told him that he couldn't be with me because he was married to Ginny and he didn't listen. We were both to blame, but I did try to refuse him.

It wasn't my fault that I was so weak kneed when it came to the man I was in love with and had been in love with for so many years. I kept them locked up for so long, it was starting to kill me.

"Well if men like Harry and men like Ron aren't your type, what is it that defines your type?" Ginny asked. I knew she was trying to get more information about my tastes so she didn't have to worry about me being with Harry without her knowing, but this was seriously getting to the point where I didn't feel at all comfortable.

I set my coffee mug down on the coffee table and looked at them both. "Listen, not many people know that I'm gay, so I would hope you both realize how difficult it was to come clean about it," I told them. "Now we are getting to a region where I don't feel comfortable talking about it and I don't want to talk about this anymore…" I was actually almost pleading. "So please don't push me to talk about this anymore, because I don't want to…"

Ginny looked a little ashamed of herself after that. "I'm sorry, Draco… You're right. I shouldn't have asked that… I'm so sorry," she said and I closed my book, setting it next to my coffee mug.

"It's all right…" I said quietly and stood up. "But I think I want to be alone for a while…"

"Draco…" Hermione said quietly, looking like she felt a little guilty too.

"I just want to go lay down. I don't feel so great…" I said and before either of them could respond to me, I walked away, going to lock myself into my bedroom.


	16. I Know It Gets Hard Sometimes

**Chapter Sixteen: I Know It Gets Hard Sometimes**

**Harry's POV**

"Draco?" I said gently, knocking on his bedroom door. I'd come home to find Ginny and Hermione sitting in silence together in the dining room. When I asked them if Draco was home, Hermione gave me a short, clipped "he's in his room" before going back to drinking her tea. Ginny was silent the entire time. "Draco, it's Harry… can I come in?"

There was a moment of quiet before the doorknob clicked and the door swung open slowly. I poked my head inside to find Draco curled up on his bed, turned away from the door. I frowned deeply, taking a hesitant step into his room. The door shut behind me as soon as I was far enough into the room, and I sighed heavily.

"Draco… baby, what's wrong?" I murmured softly, crossing towards his bed. Draco didn't budge even as I sat down on the edge beside him, gently running my fingers through his hair. "Draco… did something happen at work or are you just not feeling well?" I continued, lightly brushing my fingertips along his forehead. He liked gentle, sweet caresses like this, so whenever he was upset or feeling under the weather, I made an effort to comfort him.

He was silent, his eyes closed to seem like he was sleeping, but I could tell by his breathing pattern that he wasn't. He was breathing too shallowly to sleep. By no means was Draco a real heavy sleeper, like me, but he was always relaxed. Right now, he wasn't relaxed in any regard, and my frown deepened some. I kept leaving light sweeps of my fingers against his skin, hoping to make him feel better. Even if only a little.

After another few moments I shifted, kicking off my shoes before tucking myself close to him, my head propped up on my hand. I slid my fingers through his hair again, gently playing with it until his eyes opened slowly. His normal bright blue eyes were rather vacant and worried, and I bit down on my lip. His gaze took its sweet time to reach mine and I felt a chill course down my spine.

"She suspects us…" He said quietly, and I realized for the first time since coming in and laying beside him that Draco was shaking ever so lightly. "Ginny.. she suspects us, and..oh…" He continued, and I licked my lower lip nervously.

"What do you mean she suspects us?" I inquired, continuing the gentle stroke of my fingers in his hair. Draco shuddered, pressing close to me, his face hidden against my chest. I pulled him into my arms, holding him safe and warm. His shaking wasn't terrible, but it was enough to concern me.

"She and Hermione came home," he began, so soft that his voice could barely pass for a whisper. "They came home and asked if I was gay.. After a while I told them I was and then Ginny asked if I had feelings for you.." I felt my heart ice over and my stomach clench, but I only held Draco tighter. I bit down on my lip, pressing my face to his hair for a moment.

"What did you tell her?" I mumbled, breathing in the scent of his shampoo. Draco sighed.

"I told her I didn't..feel anything for you. That you and I were just friends and coworkers and that there was nothing else… That you loved her and only her and that, even if I did have feelings for you, I wasn't the kind of man to get in the way of your marriage…"

Draco was shaking hard again, soft sobs bubbling from his lips. I tightened my arms, holding Draco as close as I possibly could without crushing him. I couldn't imagine what he must have been thinking when he told Hermione and Ginny those words, but the iciness of them left me cold and rather upset. Even now when we'd been together for the few months since our children's first day of school, he still…felt like he was ruining everything…

I tucked my face down, resting my forehead against his as I caressed his cheek with my thumb. Tears streaked down his face and slipped under my touch and I bit down on my lip to keep from crying myself. I hated that Draco felt like he was intruding on mine and Ginny's relationship… yes, we were sneaking around behind my wife's back, but… that was my problem. That would be my own struggle to take on when we were ready. We weren't ready for that right now.

Don't get me wrong, I love Ginny. I love her more than anything else in this world because she's my school sweetheart, my best friend and the mother of my children. But over the years, I always felt like something was missing. Something important was lacking in my life and when I saw Draco at Hogwarts back in September for the first time in what felt like forever—just because we both worked at the Ministry didn't mean that I saw him every day—I realized what I'd been missing. I realized what I needed…

"Baby," I whispered, pressing a gentle and soft kiss to his lips. Draco's tears were falling but the whimpers were all but silent at this point. His blue eyes were pained and I wanted nothing more than to take him away from all of this and go somewhere where we could just be together. "Baby, please, don't cry… it's alright.."

"How is it alright, Harry? She thinks we're together…" He choked and I shook my head.

"She thinks you have feelings for me. Did she say anything about her suspicions of us actually being together? No, she didn't. It's not uncommon for a woman to think that another man would harbor at least some attraction for her husband.."

"Harry—" he began but I silenced him with another kiss.

"Don't, Draco… We're fine. We'll just have to be a little more careful from now on, but we'll be alright. I promise, we're gonna be alright…" I told him, whispering so softly against his lips. Draco sighed, turning away a little so that my mouth rested more against his cheek.

"I don't know, Harry. I just…" he trailed off just before a quiet knock sounded at the door. Heart pounding, I shot up from his side, sitting up to scoot to the edge of his bed as Draco muttered a soft "come in", nearly irritated that our one quiet moment today was so quickly interrupted.

The door pushed open slowly and Ginny poked her head inside, a small smile on her lips. "I made a snack, are you guys hungry?" She offered and I nodded once, smiling back at her. Draco was silent, but judging from the small and apologetic frown that crossed Ginny's face, I knew he shook his head. I sighed softly, motioning for Ginny to give me another minute and she shut the door.

I turned back to Draco, seeing that he was reserved again, and I didn't need to ask to know that our conversation was over. I leaned down, pressing a kiss to his lips, rather dismayed when he didn't return it before I pulled away. "I love you…" I told him, caressing his cheek, but he turned away from me.

"You too."

"Draco…" 

"Just go, Harry. I'm fine." Biting my lip, I stood from the edge of his bed. I couldn't understand what I'd suddenly done wrong, but I didn't want to push Draco either. If he wanted to be left alone, I would respect that and check on him later.

Going to the door, I took one last look at Draco, but he didn't move. His eyes were closed and he was curled up on himself, but he wasn't asleep. Not yet. He was most likely waiting for me to leave. I felt my heart drop in my chest before I opened the door and stepped out of his room, shutting it behind me. I walked down the hall towards the kitchen to find Hermione seated at our kitchen table and Ginny pouring herself some more tea.

She looked up at me and smiled tenderly, her eyes shining. I smiled back, but inside I felt horrible, but for whether it was because I was cheating on her or because I'd hurt Draco for whatever reason, I couldn't be sure. "Would you like some tea, Harry?" She offered and I nodded once, sitting across the table from Hermione. There was a plate of small sandwiches sitting in the center of the table, and I reached for one.

"Is he alright?" Hermione asked, her voice quiet serene. I glanced at her, setting my sandwich on the napkin beside me and I nodded slowly.

"He's… he's alright. He's tired and stressed from work, and he misses his son… And your comments didn't help any, really," I said. It was only a partial lie. Draco was rather stressed from work, and he did miss his son. The comments didn't help, but that wasn't the real reason why he was upset, but I couldn't tell them that… Not yet, at least.

Hermione frowned, taking a slow drink of her tea as Ginny sat down beside me, setting a cup of tea down by my sandwich. I smiled at her in thanks before taking a bite of it. "I didn't… I didn't mean to make him feel uncomfortable. Ginny and I were just…"

"We just wanted some answers. You two have been awfully close lately and I was just… I don't know, curious?" Ginny finished, and Hermione and I nodded slowly. I could understand curiosity, but I couldn't excuse the boldness of their comments.

"Just.. try to be a little more sensitive next time?" I suggested, and they agreed they would. "He's still trying to adjust to everything and get over the fact that he's not married. He only wanted what was best for his son and he knows that, even though Astoria was never much of a good mother, a broken home isn't much better."

"Well, Draco and Scorpius can stay here with us as long as they need to," Ginny offered and I glanced at her. "They're in need. Besides, where is Scorpius going to go when it comes time for the holidays? I can't imagine that he would want to spend much time with Astoria if she was really so horrible to him." I nodded.

"That's true. I think Draco's written to him and informed him what's going on. I don't think Scorpius had much of an issue with it. He and Albus are best friends, from what our boy has told me, and they're thrilled with the fact they get to spend Christmas together." Hermione smiled.

"That's wonderful. That almost sounds like when you and Ronald spent Christmas together as first years—he's told me that story so many times—the year you got your invisibility cloak. It'll be just like that, but with your son and Draco's." I chuckled, nodding as I took a small sip of my tea. A little bit of spice with a large spoonful of honey, just the way I liked it. I smiled and kissed Ginny's cheek, silently thanking her again for the tea.

"Why don't you, Ronald and the kids spend Christmas with us this year? That way all of us and our children can be together," Ginny suggested with a bright smile. I wanted to say that Draco would be against it since he couldn't stand Ronald even for all the gold and fame in the world, but I kept my mouth shut and took another drink of tea.

"That sounds like a wonderful idea, but you know how Ron gets around Draco," Hermione added and Ginny sighed.

"They're grown men, can't they get over their childhood drama?" I laughed softly.

"No, they can't, and you should know that better than anyone, love," I told her. Ginny rolled her eyes and I kissed her gently.


	17. And I'm Proud of It

**Chapter Seventeen: And I'm Proud of It  
>Draco's POV<br>**  
>The semester was finally coming to a close. It seemed like I had been living with Harry and Ginny for years, hiding in the closet while Harry was perfectly fine being with Ginny in front of people and being with me only when convenient to him. I knew I couldn't be upset about this. That's just how it needed to be, but when I wasn't feeling horrible about tearing Harry's marriage apart in secret, I was upset because I had to pretend like I had absolutely no feelings for Harry while watching him kiss Ginny and be openly in love with her.<p>

Both hurt, really, because the guilt was eating me alive, but I was also rather upset that I had to hide my love for Harry. I didn't linger on this, but the thought that I wasn't really an object of Harry's love and affection lingered in the back of my mind sometimes. After months of sneaking around behind Ginny's back, everyone's backs for that matter, I was beginning to feel more like an affair than the fact that we were in love with each other. I knew Harry loved me. In my heart I knew it was true, but my mind never truly did like to agree with my heart. They had been in a constant battle with each other since… well, since I was a little kid.

I hated to think that Harry didn't truly love me. He always said that I was what was missing from his life and while I truly felt that way about him, I sometimes questioned if he loved me as much as he claimed. I didn't want to force him to choose between his wife and me but after months of being hidden away in the closet, I was beginning to feel like nothing more than a sex object to Harry. Most of the time I could force those feeling away, but sometimes, when I was alone and had nothing to focus on, my mind invaded my heart and launched its attack of misery there.

"Draco? What is taking so long?" Harry called from down the hall. I'd over slept, which I usually never did, but I hadn't been sleeping well since Hermione and Ginny's interrogation and all of my constant worries about Ginny finding out about Harry and me and my irrational fears that Harry didn't truly love me. "We need to go if we're going to get to the kids on time!"

Today was the last day of Hogwarts' first semester and we had to go pick up the children from school for the Christmas holiday. I was really looking forward to seeing my son. I never realized just how much I was going to miss him once he'd gone off to Hogwarts, and now that I'd been apart from him since September, I was almost giddy to actually spend time with my boy again.

"Calm down, Harry, I'm coming!" I called back, pulling my shoes on. They were casual, as was the rest of my attire. Black boots (because it was snowing and cold outside), black skinny jeans (they looked better than regular jeans, sue me) and a soft, green turtleneck sweater. I was cozy and comfortable but I somehow still managed to look rather… professional? I don't know how I managed it. I believe it was my hair really.

"Draco, stop fussing with your hair, I'm sure you look fine!" Harry called back and I opened the door, stepping out into the hall.

"Harry, I'm not fussing with my hair, I overslept. Stop all your hollering. When did you become my wife?" I asked and smirked at him. Harry blushed faintly and walked over to me, kissing me gently real quick before pulling away.

"Come on, we need to go and get the kids right now," he said. "Or we're going to be late." As much as I was looking forward to seeing my son again, we were going to Hogwarts with Hermione and Ronald. Not only was it recently uncomfortable around the girls because of their ambush of my sexuality, but I was pretty sure Hermione told Ronald that I was gay and I really just did not want to put up with that. Not to mention, I just didn't like him. We didn't get along and I doubted that would really ever change, but I'd try for Harry…

When did I become Harry's bitch?

"Okay, okay, no reason to throw a fit," I said. "Besides, Ronald and Hermione aren't even here yet, so really, they're the ones who are making us late, not me. It takes time to look this good. That's why I turn heads and Ronald doesn't." Harry smiled and rolled his eyes at me, taking me into the living room where Ginny was waiting.

"Good morning Draco," she said, giving me a soft smile and I smiled back but it was forced.

"Morning, Ginny," I said quietly, going to the closet to pull my coat out. The minute I pulled it up and over my shoulders, there was a loud crack and Hermione and Ron appeared right next to me.

"So sorry we're late!" Hermione exclaimed, apologizing for both of them, but I was sure they were late because of something stupid that Ronald had been doing. "Good morning, by the way." Ron was glaring at me but I ignored it. Ignoring him was better than starting fights with him. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Ron thought Ginny and Harry should kick me out because I was a horrible person and I was bent and blah, blah, blah. Harry wouldn't kick me out, I knew, and I didn't think Ginny had the heart to put me out after a horrible break up with Astoria, gay or not.

"Good morning to you too," Ginny said. "And it's all right, but we do need to be going right now. If we don't leave now, we're going to miss the train." We all mumbled our agreements and clasped hands, apparating to a spot close enough to the train station that we could be there in minutes but far enough away that no humans would see us magically appear out of nowhere. We couldn't just apparate into the train station since it was a place for Muggles and the 9 and 3/4 boarding section was just hidden.

Once we stepped through the portal to the train that would take us to Hogwarts, we barely had the time to get on the train before it took off. Usually parents didn't take the Hogwarts express to get to the school, but things had changed since we were students and now it was one of the only ways to get to Hogwarts.

Our group received a lot of strange looks as we crammed ourselves into one of the coaches. Draco Malfoy boarding a train with Harry Potter's family and friends was bound to attract a lot of attention, but I managed to ignore it, even if Ronald was mumbling about it behind me. When we finally got into our little booth, there wasn't enough space.

"Well Harry, Draco can just sit in your lap," Ronald said. "Since he seems to like it like that, up the arse." I glared at Ron and so did Harry, but Ron seemed like he was determined to start a fight today.

"Ron, stop it, there's nothing wrong with Draco's sexuality. Leave him alone," Ginny said, sitting in Harry's lap so I would have a place to sit, but Ron brushed his sister off.

"Are you going to teach your son to be gay too?" he questioned. "Or are you too ashamed to even tell him why you and Astoria really broke up?"

"That is _not_ why we broke up, Weasley, now lay off or I will make a scene, I promise you," I growled. Hermione put a hand on Ronald's arm, whispering for him to sit down and shut up before he made things worse, but Ronald wasn't happy about my "intrusion in their lives and now that it was Christmas time, he was even more upset about my presence.

"I'm sure your wife was totally okay with you being a cock sucker."

"_Ron!_" Harry hissed. "_Stop it, right now!_" Ron really wasn't a good listener.

"No, Harry, I won't. I have to deal with someone we all are supposed to hate almost daily because he somehow wormed his way into your house, singing some sob story about Astoria divorcing him. Now he's bringing his son into our children's lives and… And his son will probably treat our children just like he treated us. He's probably a stuck up, snotty little rich bitch just like you," he said, turning to me. Now dealing with Ronald's constant insults against me was one thing, but now I was pissed. "See? You can't even say anything because you know it's true!"

"RON!" Harry shouted at him but it was just a little too late for intervention. Before I could think about stopping myself, I curled my hand into a fist, pulled back and punched him in the nose, a lot like Hermione did to me during our third year, only I gave Ron a bloody nose.

"Get off your high horse, Ronald. You're such a fucking child. Don't pretend like you know anything about me and don't _ever_ speak about my son like that ever again, or you'll have a lot more to deal with than a fucking bloody nose," I hissed. "I'll ride to Hogwarts alone, in the empty car a few doors down if that makes you feel better, because I'd really hate to be an inconvenience to you."

"Draco…" Harry said but I left the car, using a handkerchief to wipe Ron's blood off my knuckles and went to sit in the empty car. I didn't want to let Ron get to me, but I felt l could break down. That was definitely not what I wanted on the first day I got to see my baby boy in months.

Harry knocked on the cabin door a few minutes after I'd left and opened the door. "Are you okay?" Harry asked me, stepping inside and closing the door.

"No," I said quietly, looking out the window.

"Draco, just ignore him…" Harry said quietly, sitting next to me.

"Yeah, you keep saying that Harry, but he's really starting to hit some nerves, okay? I can take his insults but his constant going on about how horrible I am and how you and everyone else on this planet should hate me is really starting to get old, not to mention, now he's talking about my son? I'm not going to ignore it, I'm sorry, I can't," I said, not looking at him. He sighed, putting a gentle hand on my thigh.

"I know… And I don't blame you for hitting him. I would have too. Hermione and Ginny don't even blame you. When I left, they were in there telling Ron off," he said. "But you know it's not true. None of what he's saying is true…"

"But that's just it, it is true, Harry, not the shit he was saying about my son or what he said about Astoria, but you all should hate me. In fact, you're probably the only one who doesn't and you should…" I whispered, tears stinging my eyes but I refused to let them fall.

"Well… I'm sorry you feel that way but me hating you is just not an option so you're just going to have to get used to it, Malfoy," he said and I smiled a little despite myself. It was hard to be upset when Harry was so sweet to me all the time.

"I'm sorry…" I said quietly, sighing. "Just… since Ginny and Hermione asked about me being gay and all that, I haven't been sleeping very well and work sucks and I miss my son and I am such a wreck right now, I don't know how you think I'm beautiful…"

"I know Draco, but you always look beautiful. You said it yourself, you turn heads," he whispered, leaning back in his seat. We couldn't actually cuddle in case someone passed the car and saw us. Just another reason I hated hiding so much.

"Thank you, Harry…" I whispered, blushing faintly and he smirked at me. We hadn't had full on sex yet, really. We fooled around a lot, but we'd never had intercourse and it was moments like this that made it really hard not to bend him over and fuck him like I dreamed about so many times, or… for him to nestle between my thighs and pound me into my headboard, like I'd also dreamed about…

"For right now, forget Ronald. You get to see Scorpius today, we get to spend a whole month with our kids, but when Ginny wants to spend time alone with the kids, which she does a lot, we'll have more time to be alone as well…" he purred and there was the faintest twitch of excitement in my jeans, but I had to ignore it because Harry and I wouldn't be able to do anything until, at the very earliest, tonight after the kids went to bed and Ginny was in bed or distracted.

"I suppose you're right…" I admitted, looking over at him. "It's just, like, it doesn't matter how much I try to be civil and nice, he just won't get over whatever beef he has with me. I mean… I'm not his favorite person and he's not mine, but even Hermione and I get along and she has every right to treat me like a worthless piece of shit."

"Ron is just hard headed… He's being an arse but he'll get over it eventually," he said quietly. "Hermione and Ginny really like you despite their worries about you and I being together… Ron will get over this childishness eventually, for now, just worry about seeing your boy."

"Yeah… Yeah, that's true," I said, nodding. "I'm really happy to get to see him…"

"So try to relax, okay? I'm not going to make you come back to our car right now, I know you need some breathing room, but on the way back, I'd really like it if all the kids could be together and with their parents, okay?" Harry asked, almost pleading. I looked over at him and nodded.

"Okay Harry," I said quietly. "I'll be there, just keep Ron in line. If he says anything like that in front of my son, I'll kill him."

"You'll have to get in line cause I'll kill him first," he said, standing up. "I need to go back… keep everything calm and in order, but I love you. Please try to relax," he whispered, glancing around to make sure there was no one passing us, before leaning over to give me a quick yet passionate kiss.

"Alright… I love you too," I whispered once he pulled away. He fixed me with a warm smile before he left and went back to his wife and friends. I spent the rest of the train ride alone, trying to push what Ron had said out of my mind and just be happy that I was going to have my son home for the holidays.

When the train stopped and all of the parents got off, Harry and the others were separated from me because there were so many parents eager to see their children, so I got off the train by myself. I would find Harry and the others later. Right now I just wanted to find my son and really it didn't take too long because his hair, like mine, was brighter than the sun.

Scorpius had been standing with Albus, until Albus saw Harry and Ginny and ran over to them. Scorpius looked a little lost in the sea of children and parents reuniting, but I pushed my way through the crowd that had formed and Scorpius finally saw me and his face lit up with a beautiful, innocent smile.

"Dad!" he shouted and he ran over to me, hugging me the minute he got to me and I wrapped my arms around him, picking him up into my arms. Yes, he wasn't a little kid anymore but he was still young and he was kind of small for his age. I would have loved for my father to treat me the way I treated my son instead of how he did.

"Hey, buddy," I said quietly, holding him close and tight. "I missed you…"

He laughed like all little kids do and he wrapped his arms around my neck. "I missed you too, Dad…"


	18. Kiss Me 'Till You're Drunk

**Chapter Eighteen: Kiss Me 'Till You're Drunk  
>Harry's POV<strong>

"Dad!" I turned to see my son Albus come running towards me, his Hogwarts uniform hanging a little loose on his small frame. I smiled and knelt down, opening my arms out to him as he ran into my embrace, throwing his arms around my neck.

"Hi, son," I murmured into his ear, holding him close. I reached up, gently running my fingers through his hair. All of the longing I'd had to see my son came rushing back in full at me and I had to fight to hold back the tears. I tightened my embrace for a moment before letting go. Albus' face beamed with a smile. "Where's your brother, hmm?"

"He's coming. He was talking to someone while on the train, and I left before he did," he told me and I nodded once before standing straight. I took a gentle hold of his shoulder, leading him back to where Ginny stood with our daughter Lily. She was too young to attend Hogwarts just yet, but she had been away at a program held on campus. It was just one of the many things had changed about Hogwarts.

It was four days until Christmas and Ginny and I had a lot planned for our children. Most of the time was going to be spent at home in the Hollow, but we had all discussed going out to a nice restaurant for lunch now that the kids were back. I came up to Ginny's side before turning around, looking over the sea of parents and children, looking for that head of beautiful platinum blond hair. Where was he…?

"Looking for Draco?" Ginny said and I nodded once. Albus turned towards me, tugging on the sleeve of my coat.

"Why're you looking for Draco, Dad?" I smiled softly, looking down at him. I couldn't tell him the real reason but I knew my answer would make him happy anyway.

"Draco and Scorpius are going to be spending Christmas with us. It's… a long story, but Draco's been living with us for a while now. I thought I told you that in my letters?" I said and Albus shook his head with a bright smile on his face.

"No you didn't, but that's fantastic! I'm so excited!" Not a moment after he'd spoken did Draco and his son come into view, making their way towards us. I smiled at them, seeing the striking resemblance between my lover and his eleven year old son. Scorpius was exactly like his father in every respect when Draco had been eleven, but unlike his father Scorpius was smiling brightly, holding Draco's hand tightly.

"Albus!" Scorpius exclaimed when he saw his friend, and booked it from his father's side. I watched Draco's eyes follow his son, a beaming sense of pride emanating from him before his gaze found mine. Draco grinned for a moment before looking away as he came to my side.

"He's so excited. I told him we were staying with you," Draco muttered gently, standing close to be comfortable without raising suspicion as to why we were so close.

"So is Albus. He lit up like it was Christmas morning." I told him with a tender smile as we watched our sons talk excitedly about how they were going to share Albus' room and stay up late to talk and joke about things that had happened over the first part of the school year.

"It was so wonderful to see him again.. He's hurt that his mother has abandoned us, but he knows it's for the better. I'm almost certain living with you and Ginny and your children will be a much better influence on him that Astoria ever was…" Draco's voice was soft and pained, and when I looked at him he seemed close to tears. I wanted to hold him and comfort him, but I could only settle with resting my hand against his back, nestled right between his shoulder blades. He glanced my direction and nodded slowly, understanding the true meaning of my gesture as well as knowing that I wished I could have done more.

Lunch and dinner had past sooner than I'd expected them to. Hermione, Ron and their children, Hugo and Rose, had already gone home for the evening and would be back tomorrow. Ginny was putting Lily down to bed, James already holed up in his room, as Draco and I tucked our own sons in for the night. I sat on the edge of the bed on Albus' side while Draco sat on the other with Scorpius.

"Do you promise to be good and go to sleep at a decent time?" I asked. It was already half passed ten as it was and I knew Ginny would have my head tomorrow for getting them to bed so late. But she couldn't blame me. Albus was often rambunctious as it was, and when Scorpius was added to the equation, he could be impossible. It was intriguing how close he and Scorpius were, like Ron and I had been at their age. Hugo spent more time with James, and Rose often liked to look after Lily—as long as Lily behaved.

"Yes, Dad, I promise," Albus said with a smile. I smiled back before kissing his forehead gently. Maybe in public he might have complained—sometimes—about things like that, but in the comfort of our home he still held onto his childish ways.

"That's a good boy," I mumbled, rustling his hair a little. I glanced over to see Scorpius with his eyes half-open and a sleepy smile on his lips. Draco was quietly telling him a story while running his fingers through his boy's hair. I forced my attention back to my son to keep from staring only to find Albus had all but passed out.

Pressing another kiss to his forehead, I sat up slowly and shut out the small side lamp on the table. There was one on Scorpius' side that Draco turned out as soon as his son had fallen asleep. Draco stood and the two of us exited the room, shutting the door silently as Ginny came out of Lily's room, just across the hall, shutting the door as well. She smiled at me and kissed me sweetly, and I had to ignore the way Draco turned away and walked down the hall in uneasy silence.

"Are they asleep?" She asked me quietly and I nodded once. "How about you come join me? Hmm?" She offered and I sighed, kissing her cheek.

"I have work. I need Draco's help on some papers that are a little out of my league—" Ginny rolled her eyes and sighed heavily, crossing her arms over her chest. "—Darling, I told the Minister I'd have them done before Christmas. If I can get them, mostly, out of the way before I go to bed tonight, I'll have the rest of the week for more entertaining purposes."

"Why must you always work, though? Every night for the past several weeks you've been working and working. I'm amazed you haven't dropped of exhaustion yet." She said and I smiled, kissing her gently. She moaned into my lips, pressing close.

"One more night, alright? One more night to work and then I'm yours."

"Until tomorrow night." She teased and I shook my head.

"Go on to bed, love. I'll be there as soon as I can." I told her. She sighed and nodded, kissing me once more before turning away. She walked down the hall towards the stairs, ascending them slowly before disappearing into the dark. I rubbed my eyes under my glasses before walking down to the opposite end of the hall, turning a corner to make my way to Draco's room.

I knocked gently on the door before pushing in, seeing him kicking his shoes off. He'd stripped the sweater that he'd been wearing all day and stood half naked on the other side of the room. I smiled, shutting the door, locking it before making my way over to him. I slid my arms around his waist, leaving a soft kiss on his shoulder. "Happy to see your son?" I asked, and he chuckled.

"Yes, of course. He's my pride and joy, how could I not be happy to see him?" He asked. I hummed in response, leaving another kiss on his shoulders. "But I'm happy to see you…" He continued.

"You've seen me all day." I told him and he turned in my arms, his long fingers sliding along my jaw before his palms cupped my face.

"That's not what I meant," he commented before leaning in, kissing me slowly. I moaned deeply, tightening my arms around him as he deepened the kiss a little. His tongue slid between my lips and I moaned, sucking gently on it. He pulled away to speak and I whined. "I'm happy to be alone with you… where we can just be here and not have to worry about who might see us…"

"I know… I know you don't like hiding, Draco…"

"No, I don't."

"I'll tell her soon. We'll tell her soon, I promise." I said and Draco sighed, kissing my temple.

"How soon?" He urged. "How long must we keep this charade up? I'm tired of it, Harry, I'm so tired of it… How long until I can go out with you and actually be with you? How long until our love breaches beyond my bedroom walls?"

"It has. It's in your office, too," I teased and Draco rolled his eyes, pulling away from me all together before going to his bed. I frowned some, following him. He sat down on the edge and I slipped onto his lap, straddling his thighs as I ran my fingers through his hair. "Soon. I can't be sure when, but soon. I'm just waiting for the right time."

"The right time to tell your wife or the right time to determine whether or not you really want me?" I gaped at him for a moment, feeling his words sting like ice against my heart.

"Draco…" He looked away from me, his face somber. "Draco, don't talk like that. I love you." He lifted his gaze to meet mine, searching for a moment before his eyes softened some.

"I love you, too, Harry." I smiled, leaning in to kiss him hard. Draco moaned softly, reaching up to thread his fingers through my hair. I dropped my hands, unbuttoning my shirt before shrugging out of it quickly, letting it fall to the floor beside Draco's feet. His free hand slid up along my chest and I shivered, moaning quietly.

Draco's nimble fingers reached up, tugging swiftly on my tie, undoing it before letting it slip from his grasp, forgotten onto the floor like my shirt. I reached down, unbuckling his belt, and Draco leaned back as I popped the buttons of his skinny jeans. He pressed a kiss to my jaw before I slipped off of his lap, tugging his jeans down. Today was another day that he'd forgone the underwear detail, and I stared with a watering mouth at his growing erection.

"Merlin, Draco…" I moaned, kissing his thigh before undoing my own jeans. "You're more beautiful every time…"

"Oh, stop, Harry," he said, sitting up to help pull my jeans down. Cool air kissed my skin and I gasped softly, running my fingers through Draco's hair as he licking my hip. I kicked my jeans off as he hands slid along my thighs, his tongue drawing a line from my left hip to my right, barely passed over the head of my dick. "You're far more beautiful than me.." I scoffed.

"What's this? Draco Malfoy claiming there is someone more beautiful than he is?" I gently tugged on his hair, forcing him to look up at me. "I guess there's a first for everything." Draco moaned softly against the inside of my right thigh before licking the spot, forcing a loud moan from my mouth. He withdrew immediately and I whined.

"Hush, Harry. Do you want us to be caught?" He questioned, grabbing his wand before flicking it around in a circle. There was a sudden heat that filled the room, and I knew he put a silencing charm on the walls and the door. "There, we won't have to worry about that now," he smirked, pressing his lips to my thigh. "You can be as loud as you want."

When Draco bit the inside of my thigh, I bucked my hips into his face and howled as pleasure coursed through my entire body, head to toe. I had never expected my thigh to be such a sensitive spot, but Draco took this new information to good use and sucked on the baby fat, making my knees shake as I moaned. He pulled off to run his tongue along the mark and I tightened my grip in his hair, feeling my cock swell even thicker.

"Draco…" I growled, bending over a little, panting softly as my erection slid against his cheek, his teeth sinking into a spot just below the first in my thigh. "M-Merlin, Draco!" I gasped, feeling his lips brush against my aroused member.

"Fuck, Harry, you're hard as a rock," he mumbled against my skin. I was shaking so badly it was a wonder that I was still standing. He opened his mouth, dragging a wet kiss along the shaft and I bucked, moaning before pushing him away. "What?"

"No… I… I want.." I began and Draco chuckled softly, licking the head. I whined in pleasure. 

"I know, Harry… I'm getting there." He told me, easing the head into his mouth. The heat and the wetness of his tongue made me moan so deep and low that it didn't even sound like me, but I forced him away again.

"No… I want _you_… I want…" I muttered and Draco stared up at me, lips slightly parted with my precum glistening on them.

"Harry…" he said softly. "Are.. are you sure? I mean… we've never… I…" He stammered and I nodded once. "Do you even know _how_?" He asked, his voice raising a little in pitch and I moaned.

"I know enough…" I groaned. Draco pulled away before scooting towards the center of his bed, and I dropped to my knees on the mattress.

"There's… there's lotion in the drawer… I mean, I know it's not..it's not lube, but it will work, right?" I nodded slowly, reaching for the side table drawer beside his bed. I pulled it open quickly, staring down into it to see a bottle of unscented lotion and a scattered array of condoms. I bit down on my lip, grabbing one that was wrapped in green foil before setting it on the pillow.

"W-what do I do?" Draco asked as I uncapped the lotion. I'd seen plenty enough porn—I was curious and it ended up to be incredibly…hot…—to know the basics, but actually doing it was a completely different story. I smeared the lotion all over my fingers, adding a little more to make them really slick before turning my attention to Draco's body. I moaned deeply.

"Uhm… here—" I handed him one of the pills with my free hand, "—put this under your hips and.. spread your legs…" Draco nodded once, his face flushing lightly with blush before he complied, tucking the pillow under his hips. He raised his knees into the air, spreading his legs. His skin was bare and smooth, porcelain white. I bit down on my lip, easing myself between them before dropping my hand slowly. My fingertip pressed gently to his entrance and he gasped.

"Oh…" For a moment I wondered if he was uncomfortable, but Drake moaned so softly, so… turned on by this that I pushed the tip in some, pressing into the tight ring of muscle before managing to get it passed. Draco whined quietly, arching deeply as the first knuckle pushed past. "_Merlin, _Harry…"

"Are you okay?" I asked, and Draco nodded shakily.

"Yes… it's just.. it's weird and it's… good…" He sighed, moaning a little. "Really good…" I nodded once, gently pulling it out almost all of the way before pushing it back in again, gnawing a little on my lower lip. Draco's body clenched so tightly around my finger for a brief moment that I actually couldn't move it. I could only feel the pulsing heat around it as he groaned deeply.

I pushed it in and out slowly, taking the time to let Draco adjust. Before long he was moaning softly, curling his hands into fists at his sides whenever I pushed it deep. After a while I was able to slip in a second, going as slow and as gently as I could. Draco hissed a little at first when I pushed two in him, but he handled it well. Despite whatever pain this must have brought him, his thighs were trembling in pleasure and his cock was leaking onto his stomach.

"Harry…" He moaned deeply, wincing and crying out some as I pushed in a third. There was sweat in his hairline as I fucked him slow and steady with my fingers, spreading them a little within him to stretch him out. "Harry… _Merlin, fuck!_ please!" He whined, his heels digging into the comforter on his bed, his knees shaking a little. I bit down on my bottom lip, giving myself a few gentle strokes to ease the knot of tension that had tightened in my stomach. I reached for the condom that sat on the pillow, tearing it open with my teeth before using one hand to pull it out and roll it onto myself. I kept my fingers into Draco, holding him stretched and open.

"Harry, fuck, hurry…" He growled as I squeezed lotion onto the condom, slicking myself up quickly. I took one glance at Draco and nearly came into the condom. The low lighting of the room casted a warm glow across Draco's glistening skin. His hair was nearly white and his eyes were squeezed shut in pleasure. Lips parted in a moan with his fists tangled into the blankets at his sides. He was spread out and open, clenching and relaxing around my fingers.

"Oh, Merlin…" I breathed, staring hard at him. "Draco, you're beautiful…" I told him. His face flushed and he opened his eyes to look at me. The normal bright blue irises had practically vanished in the sea of black; his pupils were blown wide with need. I licked my lips as I withdrew my fingers, shifting so that I nestled myself between his thighs. I tucked my hands under his knees, pulling them up a little so that his hips rolled, changing the level of his entrance so that it was angled up a little more, allowing for better access.

"Are you ready?" I asked and Draco nodded once, shakily, his eyes fluttering shut for a moment. I bit my lip, reaching down to guide myself to his hole, pressing into it. From all the preparation I'd done him, I was able to push in without much of a problem. The head of my shaft slipped almost easily past the ring of muscle, and Draco arched with a loud moan.

"_Harry_," his voice sounded raw and strained. I steadied myself before pushing in deeper, slow and careful. Draco's jaw opened wider, the exhale turning hoarse and loud with a soft cry, and I stopped. He whined, his eyes squeezed shut so tightly I wondered, for a moment, if they would ever open again. "Oh, M-Merlin," his voice shook, but with pain or pleasure I wasn't sure. "Fuck, it hurts… but it's good…"

"Draco…"

"No, no don't stop…" he told me, panting softly. "It's fine…"

"But, I'm hurting you… Maybe we shouldn't…" I began but Draco's eyes snapped open, dark with need.

"Don't. Please, Harry… _Please_…" He begged. I bit my lip, wincing a little as the tender flesh stung. No doubt it would be bruised by morning. Draco's legs wrapped themselves around my waist and I curled my hands around his hips, pushing deeper into him. He arched and moaned, crying out as I slid in, filling him completely.

Draco's eyes flew open when my hips pressed to his thighs, and he stared up at the ceiling, moaning deeply. If I'd thought just seeing him laid out and open for me was hot this was far more than that. His eyes were dark, his lips were wet and I was buried so deeply within him I couldn't quite tell where he ended and where I began.

And I loved it.

"Oh, Harry," he gasped, grabbing the edge of the bed just behind his head, groaning softly as he instinctively tightened around me some. The sudden clench made me growl, and I dug my nails into his hips. "Fuck, Harry, _move_…"

I pulled back and thrust into him, earning a sharp cry from Draco's lips. He brought his other hand above his head, gripping the edge of the mattress as I rocked into him. He was tight around me, making it difficult for me to push in and out of him easily. But as the motion became steadier, easier, Draco's cries of pain became soft and harsh, his moans vibrating lightly off the charmed walls of the bedroom.

I groaned softly, thrusting into him, creating a rhythm that matched the beating of my heart as it rung in my ears. Steady, sweet, ba-bump..ba-bump..in-out..in-out… Draco's legs shifted, tightening a little higher on my waist as rocked into him. Sweat pooled in my hairline, lightly rolling down the back of my neck in tiny little beads. My breath was short, coming in hot pants.

Draco was mumbling softly, incoherent phrases and curses between moans. My name fell like water from his lips, his eyes shut in pleasure. I stared down at him through a half-lidded gaze, licking my dried lips. The bed creaked lightly beneath us, softly groaning under the shifting weight and gentle force of my thrusts.

I must have hit some sort of pleasurable spot within him, for I thrust once and Draco jerked, crying out in such overwhelming pleasure that I felt myself shudder, aching within him. He tightened around my dick, so tight that I could feel his pulse beating through his body, racing along the length of my shaft and up into my very being. Panting softly, I leaned down, pressing a kiss to his open lips.

"Harry… ngh, fuck!" He hissed, biting on my lower lip. I moaned, my thrusts becoming short and hard. My hips snapped into his thighs, quickening in pace as I went deeper inside. He cried out again, the muscles of his arms flexing as he gripped the edge of the bed. "Harry! Merlin, I'm… Haa.. I can't.. I need..!" He mumbled, panting and whining in pleasure.

"I know…" I growled as pleasure coiled in my spine, and I thrust faster, harder into him. "I know, I know, I know…" I kissed him again, moaning deeply as his tongue slipped between my lips. I ground my hips into his, thrusting so short and fast that I was barely thrusting at all, really. Draco jerked, choking on what almost sounded like a scream and I felt his hot, sticky release all over my stomach.

"Ngh, fuck— _Draco!_" I shouted, slamming into him and coming hard in the condom. White flashed before my eyes and I moaned, collapsing over him. We were panting, Draco's come smeared between our bellies as his trembling legs slid from my waist, falling spread out on the bed beneath me. After a moment of catching my breath I pulled myself from him as Draco whined, his skin glowing in the light.

Grabbing a corner of the blanket, I wiped mine and Draco's stomachs clean before peeling the soiled condom off, tossing it into the waste bin beside his night stand. I fell back down to his side, moaning softly as he curled close to me. His lips brushed my jaw as he told me he loved me, and I kissed his hair, telling him I loved him, too.


	19. Feelings That Rush Through Me

**Chapter Nineteen: I Don't Always Understand the Feelings that Rush Through Me  
>Draco's POV<strong>

"Draco? Where are you off to?" Harry called. Last night was the first night we had sex and it was amazing. At the same time, it was horrible. While everything was great (except for the fact that I was walking with a slight limp because my backside hurt so much), I couldn't shake this feeling that last night was all Harry ever really wanted. We cuddled for a while after we were finished, but Harry didn't stay. It was selfish of me to expect him to stay, since he was married to Ginny, but part of me feared that… That all Harry really wanted from me was a good fuck on the side.

If he loved me, wouldn't he have left Ginny to be with me by now?

Now I know exactly how selfish that really sounded, because Ginny and Harry had three children together. Harry did love Ginny, as much as it hurt to admit it to myself, but if he loved me, I wouldn't really just be… locked away in the closet, would I? Was I a convenient good time for Harry and nothing more? I really didn't want to believe that. How could my heart handle any more heartache in one lifetime?

"Oh, Scorpius and I are going out for the day. He's got a lot of questions about what happened between my mother and I and… I just want to take him out so we can talk and I can explain everything to him without, you know…" I said to Harry and I pulled my coat on, buttoning it up slowly. Scorpius was still in Albus' room getting dressed. Ginny was in the kitchen, cooking brunch and the other children were still in their rooms. "Plus, I have some last minute Christmas shopping to get done. I really only have Scorpius' gifts. I still have you, your kids, Ginny…"

"Draco, you don't have to get gifts for all of us, you know that," he said, walking over to me. He took my hands into his, lacing our fingers together. "You don't have to worry about going to all the trouble of picking gifts out for us. Don't worry about it, okay?"

"Harry, I'm not an idiot. I already know that you and Ginny have gotten gifts for Scorpius and I. I saw them wrapped in the hall closet yesterday while your kids were snooping for their own gifts," I told him, holding Harry's hands in my own. Despite my fears about Harry's intentions, I was still desperately in love with him… That wouldn't change. I had been in love with Harry for years.

"Besides, Ginny was kind enough to give me a place to stay and I owe her a lot." Especially since I'm sleeping with her husband, I mentally added. "And I love you, so I have to get you something. I figured I'd pick something up for Hermione and Ronald too, since they'll be here for Christmas…" The idea of spending Christmas with Ronald and his children wasn't ideal, but this wasn't my house, so I wasn't going to put up a fit about it. I would just have to deal.

Harry smiled and he leaned forward, kissing me before anyone could walk into the room and ruin our moment alone. I moaned, melting into the kiss. When Harry and I were alone, it felt like he loved me but when we were in the company of others and had to pretend like we were barely friends, or when I was alone, I couldn't help but question what Harry's true motives concerning me were.

"Well, don't worry about it, but I know how stubborn you are, so if you want to shop for Christmas stuff, by all means, shop. Though, I think you're just using Christmas as an excuse to shop. You're kind of a shopaholic," he teased, breaking our kiss. He licked my neck gently after moving my coat's collar aside. I had gone out of my way to hide the spot because Harry left a huge bruise in my pale-almost-white skin. Well, he had left several bruises in a lot of places the night before, but that one was clearly visible and I had to bite my lip to cut off my moan.

"Harry, stop it and I am not a shopaholic. Really, I just want to spend the day with my boy and get out of your hair for the day," I said.

"What if I like you in my hair? Or in other things?" Harry purred into my neck. Obviously he was still in the mood of last night. That wasn't very good since we now had a house full of kids and we didn't have to worry just about Ginny seeing us, but now my son and Harry's children.

I kissed him gently, slowly pushing Harry back. "Behave, Harry. We can't do this now. Not right in the middle of the living room in the morning." Harry pouted at me and he reached up to fix his crooked glasses. "Just wait until we can really be alone, all right?" Harry pouted further.

"Fine. As much as I hate waiting, I know you're right," he said. His pupils were a little too wide and I could see the underlying expression of need. Part of me couldn't help but feel satisfied at how much Harry seemed to need me, but I also felt an even bigger twist of worry stab at my heart. If Harry was so needy, did that really mean that all he wanted from me was sex?

"Trust me, you don't have to tell me twice," I said and he smiled a little just as Scorpius and Albus came down. Scorpius came over to me, saying that he was ready to go. He was dressed nicely for a boy of eleven, but he didn't dress nearly as nicely as I had when I was a child. I wasn't as controlling and snobbish as my father had been, then again, not many people could be. "We'll meet you all for dinner later," I said, tying a green scarf around my neck.

"All right, Draco, you two have fun. Try not to go overboard with your shopping, okay?" Harry teased as Albus, still clad in his pajamas, wandered into the kitchen for whatever it was Ginny was making for them. I rolled my eyes, waving Harry off and then I took my son's hand so we could apparate to Hogsmead and get some last minute shopping in. The streets were packed with families and students with their parents because they were all trying to finish up their Christmas shopping. Christmas was only a few days away and for whatever reason, even though we were all witches and wizards, we all procrastinated on shopping. I supposed there were some thing that Muggles and wizards shared. It really couldn't be denied, which made my former hatred of Muggles and everyone partially Muggle that much more ridiculous.

Occasionally I would run into a coworker and would have to spend a few minutes of chitchatting. Scorpius would talk to fellow students he ran into. He seemed to be much more popular at school than I was when I was at Hogwarts and for that, I was grateful. I was always worried that my son would be shunned for the things I had done when I was a child and later as a teenager. It sent me over the moon to know that my son had absolutely no difficulties making friends.

Eventually Scorpius came up to me. We had gathered quite a bit of Christmas gifts that would need to be wrapped later. Scorpius got some gifts for his friends, mostly Albus, while I picked out things for Ginny, the Weasleys' and the children. It was a little harder to pick out something for Harry because I wanted it to be meaningful, but since he would have to open it in front of everyone, it couldn't be, say, "I bought this because I obviously love you".

Merlin I hated all this hiding.

"Dad, I think we've got enough gifts, can we get some lunch or something? I'm really hungry," he said and I nodded, paying for my last purchase. I decided on buying Harry a little keepsake box. I would put something in it for him to see later, but for the most part, it was really just a decorative box that would look nice on the fireplace mantle. I'd need to put something meaningful inside of it…

"Sure, let's go," I said, putting the wrapped box into one of the bags I already had at my side. Scorpius and I made our way over to the Three Broomsticks so we could grab some lunch. We were seated in a booth at the back of the pub and we stacked up our bags onto the bench next to me. We didn't really say much until after we had ordered and received our butterbeers. Real alcohol wasn't served during the day.

"So Dad… What… What happened between you and mum?" he asked and I knew it was coming. I needed to tell him what had happened. I even told Harry that's why I was taking him out but I just did not want to talk about Astoria.

Sighing, I ran my fingers through my hair. A lot of the people I worked with had started to lose their hair and I was thankful that mine was still full. I didn't look as old as I was, but I stopped caring about what I looked like when Astoria stopped caring about me. "Scorpius, I really hate to tell you this, but I don't want to lie to you. Your mother has been… Unfaithful to me. She doesn't love me and I fell out of love with her."

"Is this… because of me? You seemed so happy before I was born…"

"No, Scorpius, don't start blaming yourself. Your mother and I breaking up has absolutely nothing to do with you, okay? I love you and your mother loves you the best she can, she just… She doesn't know how to love you," I said, trying to reassure my son. I wasn't entirely convinced that Astoria loved Scorpius, kind of like I wasn't sure if Harry loved me or not. Was I just overly paranoid? With Harry, probably, but with Astoria? I didn't think so. "Your mother has just… She's gotten involved with some people that aren't necessarily a good influence on her. She isn't abandoning you. She loves you because you are her son, but I just don't feel comfortable with her being alone with you. She wants to hurt me, she'll want to make you hate me and I just… I can't let her do that to you because I'm your caregiver. You are the most important thing in my life and I don't believe she feels the same way about you. She loves you, she just… She doesn't know how to be a mother."

"So am I never going to see her again? I mean, don't get me wrong Dad, I love you and I completely choose you, but she is my mom…" Scorpius whispered, holding his glass between his hands. He looked sad, almost depressed and I hated to see my son like that but every time Astoria chose to spend her time with people who weren't her family, he got that same look on his face and I would not allow that woman to hurt my child anymore.

"No, Scorpius, of course you're going to be able to see her, you just won't be living with her," I said, again to reassure him. The only reason Astoria would want to spend time with Scorpius was to get him away from me and, possibly, turn him against me. She seemed like she was willing to hurt me in the worst ways and up until she called me out for smelling like another man I pretended not to notice. I pretended that I didn't think she was cheating on me and I continuously allowed her to hurt me.

"Are you going to be okay, Dad?" Scorpius asked and suddenly I realized that Scorpius wasn't really worried about himself. He was worried whether or not I was going to recover from what Astoria had done to me. Scorpius knew that she had been cheating on me for years…

I sipped my butterbeer and licked my lips gently, lost in thought at what exactly I should tell Scorpius. Eventually I would have to be honest about my sexuality, especially if Harry and I came out to everyone, but I wasn't ready to tell my son that I was gay. I couldn't bear it if he rejected me for it. I really didn't think he would, but Scorpius was the most important thing in my life and I couldn't take my own son's rejection. "I'll be fine, Scorpius. I don't need your mother; I just need to be your dad. Eventually I'll find someone else, but for now, I'm fine." I didn't even consider telling him that I had already found someone else.

"You'll talk to me if you need to, right Dad? I mean… I know I'm just a kid, but I'm here for you," he said and I smiled. How did my son turn out so sweet and perfect with a mother like Astoria and me for a father? I was always afraid I would turn out to be like my father, and it seemed like I was doing okay. Maybe I didn't need to be worried about being like Lucius, because I wasn't Lucius. I was Draco and my days of trying to be like my father had been over for more than twenty years.

"Of course I will, son," I said, smiling softly at him. He grinned the way kids always did and our food magically floated to us, lowering down in front of us.


	20. I Feel The Fever Grow

**Chapter Twenty: I Try To Stay Composed, But I Feel The Fever Grow**

**Harry's POV**

"Dad! I won't want to go to sleep yet!" My youngest, Lily, said mid yawn. I smiled at her, tucking her quilt up around her slender frame. Her night dress hugged her tiny shoulders and her dark curls hung around her face. She was the spitting image of me with Ginny's eyes and a few soft freckles along the tops of her cheeks.

"You have to, sweetpea, or Santa won't bring you any presents. Now, go to sleep, darling."

"Dad, Santa's not real. He's a mascot for toy store corporations in America. Everyone knows that." I laughed quietly, kissing her pale forehead as I brought the blanket up higher, tucking it under her chin.

"My smart little girl, where did you ever hear something like that?" I asked her, and her face grew solemn.

"Albus said he heard it from some boys at school a while back. He says they say some pretty mean things, and that they don't believe in fairy tales or anything. He says they say it's all a big joke and that anyone who believes in stuff so foolish is just a baby.." I sighed quietly as I pushed my fingers through her curls again. Even after all these years, some things just refused to change at Hogwarts.

"They're just silly boys, Lily, who feel like they need to grow up too fast. You and your brothers should pay them no mind at all, alright? Santa is completely real. If you didn't believe in him, you wouldn't receive any presents." Lily's eyes widened like tiny saucers as she brought her quilt over her mouth. After a moment, she brought it down enough to whisper to me.

"I believe, Daddy. I do." I smiled at her.

"That's my good little girl. Now, go to sleep, sweetpea." Lily nodded slowly, curling into a ball as I pulled away from her. I turned out her bedside lamp and began to make my way to her door on the other side of the room when she whispered out to me again.

"Do you believe in Santa, Daddy?" I chuckled quietly.

"Of course I do." I waited for her to say anything else, but when nothing came I stepped out of her room, quietly shutting her door. Ginny emerged from Albus, James, and Scorpius' room a moment later and smiled down the hall at me.

"Finally, they're all asleep," She said as she came towards me, her night dress hanging loosely from her shoulders. "I was almost certain Albus and Scorpius would never settle down enough to get into bed, let alone fall asleep."

I smiled sweetly at her, leaning down to kiss her freckled cheek. "Boys will be boys, Gin. It's a wonder James puts up with them, to be honest. Perhaps he just remembers being like that when he was younger." Ginny nodded once before pressing ahand to my chest. I watched her stand up on her toes before her lips graced mine in a kiss. My eyes slid shut, but behind them I did not picture my wife, but rather Draco, with his pale blond hair and deep, beautiful blue eyes.

I looked down at Ginny when she pulled away, smiling at her. My heart gave a kick of disappointment followed by regret. I knew I could not deny her the truth for much longer, that I loved and cherished Draco with all of my heart, but the idea of hurting her made my heart twist and my throat seal up. Because it wouldn't just be Ginny, but our children, Ron and Hermione, Ginny's parents and older brothers… I would lose them all, but I would lose Draco if I continued to pretend and to hide…

It was moments like these where I wished Voldemort was still alive, so that I could be preoccupied with saving the world from the Dark Lord instead of choosing between the man I loved desperately and keeping my family from falling to shambles.

Ginny brushed her fingers through my hair, gentle and sweet, as she always did when she was hinting at wanting a night of intimacy. "Come to bed, Harry." Translation: let's make love now that our children are finally asleep.

I leaned into her touch and kissed her gentle and chaste. "I have work." Translation: I'm going to go sleep with Draco instead.

Ginny huffed. "Harry, it's Christmas Eve. Surely your work can wait? I can't imagine why the Minister would need anything over the holidays…" Ginny's tone was clipped, her eyes hard with scrutiny as she stared up at me. The twist in my heart returned as I kissed her hand.

"I neglected a few things and he wants them done as soon as possible," I lied, avoiding her eyes while trying desperately to make it seem like I wasn't hiding anything from her. Ginny sighed quietly, pulling her hand from my grasp.

"Harry. It's _Christmas Eve_, surely it can wait?" Ginny pleaded. I gave her an apologetic look and a shake of my head slowly. It killed me to lie to her, but I hadn't had a moment alone with Draco in what felt like eternity almost, and I was becoming incredibly desperate for his company. I had come to depend on his gentle touch and soft words, sweet kisses in our moments alone. Now with three children and a teenager running around, it was too much of a risk to even steal glances let alone much else. "Why? Why is it so important for this work to be completed _tonight_?"

I sighed. "I don't know, Gin. The Minister said—"

"Harry, please, I hardly believe the Minister would need paperwork at midnight on Christmas Eve. If there's something else going on, please just tell me, Harry…"

"Ginny, there's nothing…"

"Don't tell me there's nothing, Harry, because there is definitely something. I don't know what it is and I'm sure there is a part of me that would rather not know, that would rather just be in the dark about the whole situation, but damnit, Harry… enough with all of this. Enough with the secrecy and the work that I can hardly believe even really exists. Just be honest with me, because I believe I at least deserve that much from you."

I swallowed hard, finding my chest begin to tighten almost painfully as I gazed at Ginny through the dim light of the hallway. Her hair was pulled back, exposing the tension in her jaw, the vein in her throat, and the hurt and frustration in her eyes. Perhaps the most painful part of staring at her was knowing I had put that strain there, I had put that frustration and misery into her expression, her eyes. And it was all because I couldn't be honest with her; I couldn't tell her that I fancied Draco, fancied fucking Draco, fancied the idea of one day being fucked by Draco. I couldn't tell her any of it because, deep down, deep beneath the bravery and the charm, I was a bloody fucking coward. I was a coward in the face of my wife, my children, the man I loved… Truly, I was a coward to myself, knowing that I loved Draco and wanted to be with Draco, yet crawling back to a woman I held no intimate attraction for.

What was I so afraid of? Hurting her? Hurting my family? Hurting my children? Perhaps all of the above, yet despite this, other thoughts came to me. Ginny was strong and had just admitted that she deserved the truth, if nothing else, from me. Her family would be angry but would no doubt find their own ways to deal with it. My children adored Draco, and while they would be upset that I was leaving their mother, I had to believe they would not resent me for it. I had to believe that they would come to accept me and my love for Draco. If not… Well, it would crush me. But I couldn't afford such thoughts.

I tore my eyes from Ginny. I wanted to be brave, I needed to be brave, but as the truth began to piece itself together, my fears, my shame clamped around my throat like an iron fist. I was rendered speechless, breathless, void of thought for a moment before collecting myself. Sweet breath filled my lungs as I leaned forward automatically and kissed my wife on her delicate forehead. I felt fake.

"You worry too much, Ginny," I told her, my heart icing over within my chest. "There isn't anything secret. Go on to bed, love, and I'll be there in an hour or so." Ginny didn't speak. She didn't kiss me back. She didn't smile. She merely brushed past me as if I was nothing more than a piece of furniture in the middle of the hall and disappeared into our bedroom.

I stood there in the hall for a long while, feeling the frost brushing over my heart, cocooning my veins and leaving me cold. Perhaps I should turn around and go to her, tell her that I'd lied to her face, that I'd lied to her back, that I'd hurt her and I wasn't worth her time or effort or love since I couldn't return it. Perhaps I should tell her I'm not a good person for having wronged such a wonderful person but that I could not deny my affections for Draco, I could not deny how badly my heart burned for him. That with every day I spent away from him, he resented me and our love more and more. Draco would never admit it, but I could see it. It was evident in the envious looks he gave to Ginny when he thought I wasn't looking…

I sighed heavily, feeling myself choke as I leaned on the wall. The point, the moment in time where my biggest decision came to rest on my shoulders… Would I go and tell her and admit all of my wrongs, all of my sins and my true feelings, or would I go to Draco, spend a blissfully perfect night with him and continue the charade? Would I continue to pretend, to hide, to hurt my wife and my love for the sake of attempting balance?

I glanced at the door of mine and Ginny's room before making my decision. I straightened off the wall and turned away, walking down towards the end of the house where Draco's room resided.

I found myself at his door, gently raising my hand and knocking on the wood. There was a rustle of blankets and clothes, something being set down on a table before the door opened slowly. Draco's hair hung around his eyes and cheeks, his appearance boyish and soft. A dark green robe hung off of his frame and my mind flashed him nude in my subconscious. I wondered if he was nude still.

"Harry?" He whispered, opening the door a little wider. He wasn't expecting me to be here, but the relief was obvious. "It's late, shouldn't you be with Ginny?"

"No," I said. "I should be right here, with you, like I am now," I slipped into his room, shutting the door before pulling out my wand. I waved it quickly, muttering a silencing charm on the walls and the doors.

"You told her?" He was hopeful, and I kissed him gently.

"Not yet."

"Harry…" I kissed him again.

"I will. I will, you know I will. I almost did tonight." I admitted and he stared hard at me.

"Why didn't you?" I pushed my hands under the fabric of his robe around his shoulders, feeling the silk on the tops of my hands and his warm flesh under my palms.

"I choked. I stood there like a fool when she asked me if something was going on and I told her there was nothing, that she worried too much. She went to bed angry, and will probably wake up so. But I don't care right now." I leaned in to kiss the conjuncture of Draco's neck and shoulder, but he pulled away before my lips to grace its warmth.

"Harry, you have to tell her. Don't keep putting this off, you know it does no one any favors to have all of these lies going around…"

"I know… I know, but right now… Right now I can't. I just can't. I'm sorry." Draco's eyes hardened and he looked… more than disappointed. He looked hurt. _Merlin, don't look at me like that…_

"You have to, Harry. You have to tell her."

"_I can't!_" I nearly shouted, clinging desperately to his robe, staring up at him. My heart was in my throat and I wanted so dearly to shout _Don't you see I can't? What if my children hate me? What if my entire life falls apart because I chose to follow my heart? What if all of this falls to shit and we're left out on the cold. What then? How long will it be before I fail to make things right and you start hating me too? How long until I lose you too? Why must you make me decide at this very moment whether I lose my family or you? I can't be stoic and blunt like you, I can't pour it all out there and watch Ginny crumble. I can't do it. Don't ask me to do it. Not now. I can't do it now._

Draco's eyes flickered back and forth between mine, cold and yet so warm all the same. The only comfort was that he didn't push me away. He let me hang there, clinging to him, my heart bleeding from my fucking fingers as he drew me in and kissed me gently. And he didn't say anything. He didn't utter a sound as he shed his robe, stripped me of pajama pants and my shirt before pulling me over him on his bed. He didn't say anything as he rode me, only soft moans and gasps of pleasure falling from his pink lips and tongue. He didn't say anything as I kissed him lazily after we'd come, holding his hand pressed to my heart to let him feel how it was all for him, and he didn't say anything as I slipped from his arms, back into my clothes, and left his room.


End file.
